LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


THE  UNDERGROUND  HAULAGE 

OF  COAL 
BY  WIRE  ROPES. 

INCLUDING  THE   SYSTEM   OF 

WIRE    ROPE    TRAMWAYS 

AS  A  MEANS  OF  TRANSPORTATION  FOR  MINING  PRODUCTS. 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY, 


WRITTEN    FOR 


JOHN  A.  ROEBLING'S  SONS  CO 

OF  TRENTON,   N.  J. 


BY  WILHELM  HILDENBRAND,  C.  E. 


PRINTED  BY  THE  W.  S.  SHARP  PRINTING  CO.,  TRENTON,  N.  J. 

1884. 


p 


THE  UNDERGROUND  HAULAGE 

OF  COAL 
BY  WIRE  ROPES. 

INCLUDING   THE   SYSTEM   OF 

WIRE    ROPE   TRAMWAYS 

AS  A  MEANS  OF  TRANSPORTATION  FOR  MINING  PRODUCTS. 


A  PRACTICAL  ESSAY, 

WRITTEN    FOR 

JOHN  A.  ROEBLING'S  SONS  CO 

OF  TRENTON,   N.  J. 


BY  WILHELM  HILDENBRAND,  C.  E. 


PRINTED  BY  THE  W.  S.  SHARP  PRINTING  CO.,  TRENTON,  N.  J. 


1884. 


LIBRARY 

WWVKRSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


COPYRIGHTED,  1884, 

BY 

JOHN   A.   ROEBLING'S   SONS   CO. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  present  little  volume  we  offer  to  our  patrons,  mining  engineers,  and  to  all  interested 
in  the  transportation  of  coal  and  other  mining  products,  a  collection  of  such  useful,  practical 
and  theoretical  information  as  will  be  of  assistance  in  planning  appropriate  machinery  for 
hauling  and  hoisting. 

We  have  refrained  from  filling  the  book  with  pictures  and  fancy  sketches,  and  include 
only  a  series  of  carefully  selected  plans,  representing  the  executed  and  approved  conveying 
systems  operated  at  the  present  day  in  the  best  American  and  English  collieries. 

It  was  originally  our  intention  to  confine  this  treatise  solely  to  "underground"  haulage, 
hut  while  preparing  the  same  we  received  so  many  inquiries  about  wire  rope  tramways  that 
we  considered  the  subject  but  incompletely  treated  without  describing  this  method  of  "over- 
ground" transportation,  which  in  many  mining  districts  already  plays  an  important  part,  and 
promises  with  every  year  to  become  more  and  more  extended. 

The  general  plans,  showing  the  disposition  of  the  systems,  are  invariably  sketched  without 
scale,  as  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  illustrate,  in  a  correctly  proportioned  drawing,  all 
the  different  parts. 

The  details,  however,  are  drawn  to  a  scale,  and  in  most  cases  the  dimensions  are  added 
in  figures,  justifying  us  to  trust  that  in  combination  with  the  explanatory  text  the  subject 
may  be  clear  even  to  the  non-professional  reader. 

Of  the  numerous  wire  rope  planes  constructed  in  England  and  Scotland,  we  selected, 
according  to  our  judgment,  some  of  the  best  systems,  and  included  such  details  as  differ 
from  those  used  in  our  country,  and  which  may  be  of  interest. 

The  majority  of  examples,  however,  are  taken  from  the  Monongahela  coal  region,  where 
we  personally  collected  the  general  data  and  made  sketches  and  measurements  on  the  ground 
of  all  important  details. 

We  are  much  indebted  to  tne  owners  of  the  different  establishments  mentioned  herein  who 
kindly  permitted  our  engineer  to  visit  their  works ;  also  to  the  superintendents,  engineers 
and  pit  bosses  who  courteously  gave  him  ready  and  instructive  information,  enabling  him  to 
make  an  intelligent  compilation  and  classification  of  the  vast  variety  of  arrangements.  To 
all  of  these  gentlemen  we  tender  herewith  our  most  sincere  thanks. 

We  hope  that  this  little  book,  which  as  far  as  we  know  treats  the  subject  of  haulage  more 
comprehensively  than  any  hitherto  published,  will  be  favorably  received  by  mine  operators. 
It  will  be  highly  gratifying  to  us  if  we  should  succeed  in  our  object  of  contributing  some- 
thing to  the  general  knowledge  of  underground  and  overground  transportation,  and  of  assist- 
ing parties  in  applying  to  the  best  advantage  one  or  the  other  of  the  described  systems. 

JOHN   A.   ROEBLING'S   SONS    OO, 
TRENTON,  N.  J.,  June,  1884. 


THE  UNDERGROUND  HAULAGE  OF  COAL 


With  the  steadily  increasing  demand  of  coal  for  all  purposes  of  industry,  deep 
mining  becomes  more  and  more  necessary.  This  is  true  not  only  in  those 
regions  where  coal  occurs  at  great  depths,  and  must  be  reached  by  sinking  deep 
shafts,  but  also  in  the  more  favored  localities  where  the  veins  crop  out  at  the 
hillside,  and  the  miner,  following  the  strata,  is  compelled  to  penetrate  for  miles 
into  the  heart  of  the  mountain.  In  all  cases  it  is  a  question  of  great  importance 
how  to  convey  the  coal  from  the  interior  working  "rooms"  to  the  bottoms  of 
the  shafts,  or  directly  to  the  surface,  and  from  there  to  suitable  shipping  places, 
and  it  is  probably  not  saying  too  much  to  assert  that  coal-mining,  considered  as 
an  industrial  and  commercial  success,  at  the  present  day  is  principally  dependent 
upon  the  methods  by  which  this  is  done.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  sinking 
numerous  shafts  in  developing  mining  properties  must  be  expensive  and  incon- 
venient, and  that  it  is  preferable  to  transport  the  coal  underground,  even  great 
distances,  to  one  centrally  located  shaft,  if  this  can  be  done  quickly  and  economi- 
cally. This  is  fully  demonstrated  in  the  deep  mines  of  England  and  the 
European  Continent,  where  for  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  underground 
haulage  of  coal  by  machinery  has  superseded  the  older  methods.  The  coal 
extending  over  a  field  of  several  square  miles  is  now  conveyed  to  the  surface 
through  a  single  deep  shaft  cheaper  and  in  less  time  than  formerly,  where  the 
coal  could  be  mined  near  the  surface,  through  a  number  of  shallow  shafts  placed 
only  a  few  hundred  yards  distant  from  each  other.  Moreover,  the  superior 
machinery  for  hauling,  hoisting  and  pumping  makes  it  possible  to  locate  this 
shaft  either  in  the  deepest  or  any  other  part  of  the  mine,  wherever  it  is  most 
advantageous  for  draining  the  water  or  landing  the  coal. 

In  the  Monongahela  and  Ohio  coal  regions'  of  this  country  the  usual  method 
of  mining  is  by  horizontal  or  slightly  dipping  "entries,"  and  in  the  anthracite 
region  by  "slopes"  and  "gangways,"  through  which  the  coal  is  brought  to  the 
surface  without  the  necessity  of  vertical  hoisting,  but  it  frequently  has  to  be 
transported  long  distances  within  the  mine  itself.  The  economy  in  the  use  of 
machinery  is  also  well  understood,  and  in  many  mines  extensive  appliances  of 
machinery  have  been  made.  Wherever  manual  or  animal  labor  for  transporting 
coal  is  still  employed,  the  mine  owners  contemplate  replacing  them  by  steam 
power,  and  it  is  a  question  of  only  a  comparatively  short  time  when  every  coal 
mine  in  the  country  will  have  efficient  and  improved  mechanical  arrangements 
for  conveying  coal  from  the  interior  to  the  "  tipple,"  or  place  of  shipping. 

If  we  consider  that  as  recently  as  seventy  years  ago,  in  England  and  Scotland, 
coal  was  carried  to  the  surface  by  women,  on  their  heads ;  that  wheelbarrows  or 


sledges,  dragged  by  hand  or  by  dogs,  were  used  for  a  long  time;  that  hoisting 
was  done  by  horses  in  gins  or  by  water-balance  shaft;  that  even  after  the  intro- 
duction of  the  iron  rail  until  a  recent  date  horses  and  mules  were  exclusively 
employed,  all  of  which  could  transport  only  limited  quantities  of  coal— we  can 
better  appreciate  the  immense  advantages  of  modern  progress  in  the  perfection 
of  machinery  with  which  now  more  coal  is  brought  to  the  surface  of  the  earth 
in  a  day  than  half  a  century  ago  was  brought  in  a  year. 

In  the  following  treatise  we  intend  to  describe  the  methods  employed  in  the 
best  mines  of  this  country,  as  well  as  of  Europe,  where  coal  is  handled  by  means 
of  wire  rope  haulage,  which  has  been  proved  to  be  the  cheapest  and  most  con- 
venient of  any  of  the  methods  now  in  use.  We  will  also  give  some  practical 
hints  and  sufficient  illustrations  of  detail  construction  to  enable  managers  of  mines 
to  judiciously  arrange  their  plant  and  to  select  that  system  which  will  be  most 
suitable  to  their  special  circumstances. 

The  many  methods  applied  in  mining  regions  for  transporting  coal  by  means 
of  wire  rope,  though  varying  from  each  other  in  detail,  can  be  grouped  in  five 
distinct  classes : 

I.  THE  SELF-ACTING  OR  GRAVITY  INCLINED  PLANE. 
II.  THE  SIMPLE  ENGINE  PLANE. 

III.  THE  TAIL  ROPE  SYSTEM. 

IV.  THE  ENDLESS  ROPE  SYSTEM. 
V.  THE  CABLE  TRAMWAY. 


I.  THE  SELF-ACTING  INCLINED  PLANE, 

The  motive  power  for  the  Self- Acting  Inclined  Plane  is  gravity ;  consequently 
this  mode  of  transporting  coal  finds  application  only  in  places  where  the  coal  is 
conveyed  from  a  higher  to  a  lower  point,  and  where  the  plane  has  sufficient 
grade  for  one  or  more  loaded  descending  cars  to  raise  the  same  number  of  empty 
cars  to  an  upper  level.  Inside  the  pits  such  favorable  circumstances  are  rarely 
met  with,  but  they  are  of  frequent  occurrence  where  the  coal  is  transported  from 
the  pit-mouth  to  the  tipple.  There  is  hardly  a  single  mine  in  the  Monongahela 
valley  without  a  gravity  inclined  plane,  varying  in  length  from  700  to  1800  feet. 
The  cars  are  raised  and  lowered  by  a  wire  rope  winding  and  unwinding  succes- 
sively on  a  drum  at  the  head  of  the  plane.  Figs.  1  and  2,  Plate  1,  on  opposite 
page,  show  the  general  arrangements  in  plan  and  elevation.  Fig.  % A  represents 
a  road  with  four  rails,  or  a  regular  double  track,  the  cars  descending  on  one  and 
ascending  on  the  other.  This  is  of  course  the  safest,  though  most  expensive, 
arrangement.  There  are  no  switches  or  crossings ;  it  cannot  get  out  of  order, 
and  will  accommodate  the  transportation  of  unlimited  quantities  of  coal. 

Next  in  completeness  is  a  road  with  three  rails  and  a  " parting"  (Fig.  2B),  an 
arrangement  hardly  inferior  to  the  first,  and  considerably  cheaper,  saving  one 
rail  and  not  requiring  so  wide  a  road.  The  "parting"  is  a  double  track  for  a 


short  distance  in  the  middle  of  the  plane,  where  the  cars  meet  and  are  allowed 
to  pass  each  other. 

Another  still  more  economical  plan  (Fig.  8C)  consists,  like  the  former, 
of  a  road  with  three  rails  from  the  top  of  the  plane  to  the  pa/ting,  but 
with  two  rails  only  below  the  same.  To  operate  this  plane  it  requires  a  self- 
acting  switch  at  the  lower  end  of  the  parting  (Pig.  3).  Two  pieces  of  timber, 
pointed  and  iron-bound  at  the  ends,  are  movable  over  the  rails  around  the 
pivots  (c).  In  the  position,  as  drawn,  an  empty  car  going  up  will  take  the  track 
(T7),  while  the  loaded  car  coming  down  the  track  (R)  will  shift  the  timbers  to 
the  position  indicated  in  dotted  lines.  At  the  next  trip  the  empty  car  will  move 
on  track  (R),  and  the  loaded  car,  this  time  descending  on  track  (T),  will  shift 
the  timbers  again  to  their  original  position,  the  same  play  being  repeated  at  every 
alternate  trip.  Some  wooden  or  iron  blocks  (d)  let  in  the  ground  or  fastened  to 
the  ties,  limit  the  motion  of  the  timbers,  which  at  the  same  time  serve  as  guard- 
rails and  guide  the  wheels  on  the  respective  tracks.  The  switch  is  simple  and 
will  not  easily  get  out  of  order,  and  as  long  as  this  is  the  case  this  plane  will  do 
the  same  service  as  one  with  a  double  track. 

In  narrow  pits,  or  wherever  space  must  be  economized,  an  arrangement  as 
illustrated  in  Fig.  2D  and  Fig.  4,  may  be  recommended.  It  consists  of  a  double 
track,  one  inside  the  other ;  the  outer  for  the  passage  of  the  pit  cars,  the  inner, 
constructed  of  lighter  rails,  for  an  extra  balance  car.  The  latter  is  a  hollow  iron 
box,  on  small  wheels,  and  heavy  enough  to  pull  an  empty  car  up  the  plane,  and 
also  light  enough  to  be  raised  by  a  descending  loaded  car.  At  the  Westmoreland 
colliery  a  plane  of  this  construction,  500  feet  long,  with  a  grade  of  one  in  three, 
is  in  operation  for  lowering  material  into  the  mine.  The  balance  car  (Fig.  o)  is 
4x2  feet,  by  ten  inches  high,  resting  on  six-inch  wheels.  It  is  provided  with  a 
safety  bar  (g)  attached  by  a  pin  (c)  to  the  front  of  the  car.  The  wire  rope, 
passing  through  the  box,  is  secured  to  a  short  arm  of  the  bar,  and  in  case  of 
breaking  or  getting  slack  the  latter  will  drop  and  arrest  the  motion  of  the  car. 
The  wooden  rollers  (p)  serve  for  the  support  of  the  rope.  The  working  capacity 
of  such  a  plane,  where  coal  can  be  lowered  only  at  every  other  trip,  is  just  half 
of  that  of  the  three  former  arrangements. 

At  the  head  of  every  gravity  plane  there  is  a  drum,  which  is  generally  con- 
structed of  wood,  having  a  diameter  of  seven  to  ten  feet.  It  is  placed  high 
enough  to  allow  men  and  cars  to  pass  under  it.  It  is  enclosed  by  a  small  shed, 
technically  called  the  "check-house,"  by  which  name  it  is  known  throughout  the 
mine  regions.  Loaded  cars,  coming  from  the  pit,  are  either  singly  or  in  sets  of 
two  or  three  switched  on  the  track  of  the  inclined  plane,  and  their  speed  in 
descending  is  "  checked  "  or  regulated  by  a  brake  on  the  drum.  In  place  of  one 
large  drum,  as  shown  in  Fig.  £A,  two  smaller  ones,  keyed  to  the  same  shaft,  are 
frequently  used  (Fig.  8B).  The  axis  of  the  drum  is  horizontal.  Two  wire 
ropes  are  fastened  with  their  ends  to  the  circumference  of  the  drum,  one  leading 
from  the  under,  the  other  from  the  upper  side  of  it,  so  that  one  must  wind  up 
while  the  other  unwinds.  Sometimes  the  two  drums  are  on  different  shafts, 
which,  by  means  of  a  gearing  of  two  (36-inch)  cogwheels,  revolve  in  opposite 
directions.  This  makes  it  possible  to  lead  both  ropes  from  the  under  side  of  the 


drums,  which  is  preferable  on  account  of  avoiding  any  tendency  to  lift  the  cars 
when  they  are  near  or  at  the  top  of  the  plane.  Instead  of  using  two  ropes,  each 
of  the  length  of  the  plane,  it  has  been  attempted  to  obtain  the  same  result  with 
a  single  lepgth  of  rope.  It  is  done  by  giving  it  three  to  four  turns  on  the  drum, 
to  prevent  slipping,  and  passing  the  ends  as  before,  one  from  the  under  the  other 
from  the  upper  side  of  the  drum.  For  planes  in  constant  use  this  method  is  not 
advisable  on  account  of  the  unavoidable  sideward  sliding  of  the  rope  on  the 
drum,  which  wears  it  out  more  rapidly.  The  use  of  a  " grip-wheel"  is  better 
for  this  purpose.  It  consists  of  two  rims  bolted  together.  Numerous  hinged 


jaws  (k)  are  fitted  into  the  square  holes  (m)  in  the  circumference  of  the  rim. 
The  lower  side  of  the  jaws  being  straight,  while  that  of  the  holes  is  slanting,  the 
pressure  of  the  rope  will  cause  the  upper  part  of  the  jaws  to  close,  gripping  the 
rope  firmly  and  preventing  its  slipping.  A  grip-wheel  occupies  very  little  space, 
and  has  also  the  advantage  of  requiring  only  one  length  of  rope,  but  the  first 
method,  with  a  drum  and  a  double  rope,  recommends  itself  by  its  simplicity  of 
construction  and  certainty  of  action,  and  in  most  cases  is  preferable. 

The  braking  apparatus,  as  used  at  the  Imperial  inclined  plane,  is  illustrated 
in  Fig.  7,  Plate  2.  There  are  two  drums  on  the  same  ishaft ;  each  drum  is  pro- 
vided with  a  brake-band  (6),  fastened  on  opposite  sides,  with  one  end  to  the 
supporting  frame,  with  the  other  to  the  circumference  of  a  small  disk  (d)9  in  such 
a  way  that  both  bands  will  tighten  if  the  disks  are  turned  in  the  direction  of  the 
arrows.  The  tightening  is  effected  by  a  man  on  the  platform  at  the  brink  of 
the  plane  in  pressing  on  the  lever  (Q,  a  wire  leading  from  it  to  the  two  levers  (p), 
which  are  attached  to  the  axles  of  the  disks. 

Fig.  8  represents  the  typical  form  of  the  switch  used  in  the  check- house  at  the 
head  of  the  plane.  It  is  taken  from  the  D.  Steen  mine,  and  consists  of  four 
movable  tongues  (a,  6,  c,  d),  which,  according  to  their  positions,  turn  the  loaded 
cars  alternately  on  tracks  (L)  and  (R\  while  all  empty  cars  are  returned  on 
track  (M).  In  the  position  as  drawn  a  loaded  car  will  pass  from  track  (N)  to 


9 

(Z);  the  empty  car  returning  from  the  direction  (jR),  will  open  the  tongue  (d) 
and  close  (o) ;  (a)  is  closed  by  the  switch-tender,  and  (6)  is  constantly  kept  par- 
tiallyopen  by  inserting  a  piece  of  wood  between  the  tongue  and  the  fixed  rail. 
By  this  means  there  is  enough  spring  imparted  to  the  tongue  (6)  to  allow  the 


next  loaded  car  to  pass  over  to  track  (R),  while  the  returning  empty  one  will 
place  the  tongues  in  their  original  position,  and  will  again  turn  on  track  (M). 
The  switch  is,  therefore,  self-acting,  with  the  exception  that  the  tongue  (a)  must 
be  closed  by  the  switch-tender  for  every  returning  empty  car. 


10 


Every  gravity  inclined  plane  is  provided  with  safety  arrangements  for  guard- 
ing against  damage  to  life  and  property  in  case  of  breakage  of  the  rope.  There 
are  a  variety  of  devices  at  different  mines,  differing  in  detail  construction,  but  in 
all  of  them  only  two  principles  are  represented  :  either  to  stop  the  cars  in  their 
downward  motion,  or  to  switch  them  sideways  and  throw  them  off  the  plane. 
An  arrangement  for  stopping  the  cars,  called  the  "  dead-lock,"  which  is  in  use  at 
the  Gray  &  Bell  mine,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  9. 

Two  pieces  of  timber,  pointed  and  iron-bound  at  the  upper  ends,  and  movable 
around  central  pivots,  can  be  placed  over  the  rails  by  pulling  the  wire  (s)  which 
leads  to  the  check-house,  and  which  by  means  of  a  bell-crank  is  connected 
with  the  lower  ends  of  the  timbers.  When  the  tension  on  this  wire  is  released, 
the  timbers  are  drawn  into  their  original  position  by  the  weights  (G)  which  are 
suspended  from  bell-cranks  at  the  end  of  wires  attached  to  the  front  part  of  the 
timbers. 

Another  arrangement  intended  to  throw  the  cars  off  the  track,  and  in  use  at 
the  Imperial  mine,  is  the  following:  A  regular  switch  (Fig.  10)  is  placed  in 


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a  position  to  cause  descending  cars  to  run  off  the  track  in  case  of  breakage  of 
the  rope.  This  is  effected  by  the  weights  (P)  hanging  at  the  ends  of  double- 
armed  levers,  which  have  a  tendency  to  press  the  switch-rods  towards  the  centre 
of  the  road,  closing  the  tongues  (a)  and  fa),  and  opening  (6)  and  (6X).  The 
switch-rods  are  held  in  position  by  a  pin  (n),  and  the  weights  (P)  come  only  in 


11 

action  when  the  pin  is  pulled  out  by  means  of  a  wire  leading  to  the  check-house 
or  to  the  tipple,  according  to  the  location  of  the  switch — whether  nearest  to  the 
top  or  to  the  bottom  of  the  plane. 

At  the  Walton  mines  a  heavy  timber,  called  the  "dead-fall,"  moving  in  an 
upright  frame,  is  made  to  fall  over  the  rails.  At  Brown's  mine,  iron  blocks— 
"  dead-locks  "—are  pushed  in  the  way  of  the  car  wheels,  and  many  other  devices 
of  a  similar  character  are  employed  at  other  mines. 

Important  parts  of  every  gravity  plane,  or  of  any  other  road  worked  by  wire 
rope,  are  the  supporting  rollers,  which  are  placed  between  the  track  at  regular 
distances.  Without  them  the  rope  would  drag  on  the  ground  and  wear  out 
rapidly.  They  are  generally  of  wood,  five  to  six  inches  in  diameter  and  eighteen 
to  twenty-four  inches  long,  with  f  to  |-inch  iron  axles.  Frequently  the  bearings 


are  also  of  wood,  but  on  the  better  constructed  roads  they  are  of  iron,  the  boxes 
being  hinged  so  that  the  rollers  can  easily  be  changed.  The  wood  preferred  for 
rollers  in  the  Monongahela  region  is  sugar-maple  or  gum-wood,  and  the  price 
per  piece  is  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents,  while  the  first  cost  with  axles  and  bear- 
ings is  about  $1.25.  If  partially  worn,  the  rollers  are  turned  around  or  tho 
bearings  shifted  sideways,  by  which  means  the  rollers  are  made  to  last  from  six 
months  to  two  years,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  wood  and  the  condition  of 
the  road.  The  distance  between  the  rollers  varies  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet — 
steeper  planes  requiring  less  rollers  than  those  with  easy  grades.  Considering 
only  the  reduction  of  friction  and  what  is  best  for  the  preservation  of  the  rope,  a 
general  rule  may  be  given  to  use  rollers  of  the  greatest  possible  diameter,  and  to 
place  them  as  close  as  economy  will  permit. 


Ti<5.14- 


TJte  „ 


12 

Wire-rope  fastenings,  as  used  in  the  mine  regions,  consist  either  of  a  regular 
conical  socket  (Fig.  1%,  Plate  #),  secured  to  the  rope  by  tapering  pins  driven  between 
the  opened  wires,  or  more  frequently  of  an  especially  long,  thin  socket,  called  a 
"  dead -eye  "  (Fig.  13),  to  which  the  rope  is  fastened  simply  by  turning  over  the 
strands  or  sometimes  by  opening  the  wires  inside  the  socket  and  pouring  in 
melted  lead. 

The  most  usual  connection,  however,  is  the  so-called  "goose-neck"  (Fig.  Ify. 
It  consists  of  a  pair  of  trough-shaped  tongs,  bent  to  a  loop  and  riveted  to  the 
rope  by  three  or  four  rivets.  The  rivets  are  driven  cold  and  the  holes  are  made 
by  inserting  a  sharp  pin  and  pushing  the  wires  apart  without  injuring  them.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  heat  the  end  of  the  rope  for  a  length  of  about  one  inch,  and 
weld  the  wires  together  to  prevent  them  from  untwisting.  Of  these  three  fasten- 
ings, the  first  is  the  only  one  that  gives  the  same  strength  as  the  rope ;  but  the 
others,  being  neater  and  more  compact,  slide  easily  over  the  rollers,  and  in  most 
cases  are  sufficiently  strong,  as  the  rope  is  generally  strained  only  from  one-fifth 
to  one-seventh  of  its  ultimate  strength.  The  rope  socket  can  be  directly  attached 
to  the  "pulling  bar"  of  the  car  by  a  clevis,  or  it  may  first  be  connected  to  a 
chain  five  to  ten  feet  long,  with  a  swivel,  the  end  of  the  chain  being  attached  to 
the  car  (Fig.  1*2  y  Plate  2).  The  latter  plan  is  preferable,  because  the  greater 
flexibility  of  the  chain  avoids  the  cross-strains  in  the  rope  caused  by  vibrations. 
The  wires  near  the  socket  generally  break  long  before  the  rope  is  worn  out,  and 
it  is  therefore  good  practice  to  cut  off  the  socket  once  a  year  and  place  it  a  few 
feet  farther  back. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  know  the  smallest  angle  of  inclination  at  which  a  plane 
can  be  made  self-acting.  The  limit  will  be  when  the  motive  and  resisting  forces 
balance  each  other.  The  motive  forces  are  the  gravity  of  the  loaded  car  and  of 
the  descending  rope.  The  resisting  forces  consist  of  the  weight  of  the  empty  car 
and  ascending  rope,  of  the  rolling  and  axle  friction  of  the  cars,  and  of  the  axle 
friction  of  the  supporting  rollers.  The  friction  of  the  drum,  stiffness  of  rope  and 
resistance  of  air  may  be  neglected.  A  general  rule  cannot  be  given,  because  a 
change  in  the  length  of  the  plane  or  in  the  weight  of  the  cars  changes  the  pro- 
portion of  the  forces;  also  because  the  co-efficient  of  friction,  depending  on  the 
condition  of  the  road,  construction  of  the  cars,  &c.,  is  a  very  uncertain  factor. 


13 


The  subjoined  table  has  been  calculated  upon  the  assumption  of  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances for  working  a  plane  with  a  £-inch  steel  rope  and  lowering  from  one 
to  four  such  pit  cars  as  are  used  in  the  Monongahela  mine  region.  The  last 
column  gives  the  strains  on  the  rope  in  each  case : 


Number            "Weight                   Weight 
of            of  descending        of  ascending 
Cars.                  Cars.                        Car-:. 

Length 
of 
Plane. 

Rise  in  100  feet 
necessary 
to  make  the 
plane 
self-acting. 

Strain  in 
the 
Ki^pe. 

Pounds. 

Pound*.                    Pounds.                      Feet. 

Feet. 

1                    4,000                      1,400 

500 

5.5 

135 

"                        n                             K 

1,000 

6.3 

174 

"' 

1,500 

8.2 

240 

«                        n 

2,000 

10.0 

318 

2                   8,000                      2,800 

500 

5.0 

231 

'<                                K                                       it 

1,000 

5.5 

270 

ti 

1,500 

6.1 

314 

a                                 tt                                          t< 

1 

2,000 

6.7 

364 

3                  12,OCO                    4,200 

500 

4.9 

314 

1,000 

5.2 

367 

1,500 

5.5 

404 

2,000                       5.9 

449 

4                  16,000                    5,000 

500                       4.8                        412 

u                      «                             « 

•  I                                              i<                                                           U 

1,000                        6.0 
1,500                       5.2 

463 

497 

11                                 >i                                          l( 

2.000                       5.5 

539 

At  the  inclination,  given  in  the  fifth  column,  the  cars  will  descend  with 
uniform  velocity  equal  to  an  initial  velocity,  which  may  be  given  to  them  either 
by  a  push  or  by  a  "knuckle"  (a  short  stretch  of  steeper  inclination  at  the  head 
of  the  plane).  On  a  smaller  inclination  the  cars  will  not  be  able  to  descend, 
except  when,  under  very  favorable  circumstances,  the  friction  should  be  much 
smaller  than  assumed  in  the  above  table.  If  the  rise  is  greater,  the  brake  must 
be  applied  to  check  the  accelerated  motion  which  the  cars  would  otherwise 
assume. 


14 

A  gravity  inclined  plane  should  be  slightly  concave,  steeper  at  the  top  than  at 
the  bottom.  The  maximum  deflection  of  the  curve  should  be  at  an  inclination  of 
forty-five  degrees,  and  diminish  for  smaller  as  well  as  for  steeper  inclinations.* 


*The  theoretically  correct  curve  is  the  arc  of  a  cycloid.  This  curve  has  the  property  that  a 
body  falling  from  one  point  of  it  to  another  will  reach  the  lower  point  in  less  time  than  on  any 
other  curve  or  straight  line,  and  that  the  lowest  point  or  vertex  will  always  be  reached  in  the 
same  time,  no  matter  where  the  starting  point  has  been.  These  two  qualities  have  given  to  this 
curve  the  surnames,  "  Brachystochrone  "  and  "  Tautochrone  "— that  is,  "curve  of  quickest  descent," 
and  "curve  of  equal-time  descent."  It  possesses  another  quality  of  great  practical  value,  lately 
demonstrated  by  Julius  Hitter  von  Hauer  (see  Berg  and  Hueitenmaennische  Zeitung,  1884),  that 
it  equalizes  the  weight  of  the  two  ropes  at  every  point,  so  that  the  resistance  remains  always  the 
same,  and  the  braking  power  can  be  applied  with  equal  force  during  the  whole  time  of  the 
descent,  while  on  a  straight  plane  the  necessary  braking  force  changes  considerably. 


15 

We  subjoin  another  taole,  giving  the  maximum  strain  on  a  wire  rope  working 
gravity  inclines  of  different  lengths  and  with  grades  of  from  five  to  forty-five 
degrees.  It  is  supposed  that  starting  and  stopping  is  done  gradually  and  not 
with  a  jerk.  A  safety  factor  of  six  has  been  assumed  in  the  determination  of 
tlio  rope  diameter: 


o 

LMHQ 

TH 

OF  PLAN 

K. 

1 

1 

1 

g 

500  F 

eet. 

^^  j; 

'eet. 

1,500  f 

^eet. 

2,000  .F 

bo 

. 

o 

w 

c 

a 

bo 

a 

c 
a> 

0 

1 

_c 

£ 
& 

1 

1 

i 

1 

0) 
^ 

J 

J2 

4 

1 

i 

13 

a. 

-rj 

i, 

c 
i—  i 

s 

<** 
O 

o 

QD 

^ 

-i 

S 

1 

S 

9 

55 

*Q 

IH 

d 

*i*H 

c 

'— 

c 

'  — 

c 

?** 

c 

S 

'i 
« 

Numbe 

be 

"S 

1 

N 

£ 

s 

c 

o 

5 

.2 
op 

1 

= 

0 

| 

a 

Degrees. 

Feet. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

In. 

Pounds. 

In. 

Pounds. 

In. 

Pounds. 

5° 

8.7 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

5 

320 

| 

340 

5 

360 

n 

'' 

u 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

580 

.| 

600 

5 

620 

I 

640 

f> 

" 

« 

3 

12,000 

4,200 

865 

! 

885 

I 

905 

| 

925 

r, 

(4 

4 

16,000 

5,600 

1,146 

1 

1,166 

| 

1,186 

I 

1,206 

| 

10° 

17.6 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

673 

$ 

718 

4 

763 

5 

808 

({ 

u 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

1,302 

s 

1,346 

1,390 

1 

1,434 

1 

M 

3 

12,000 

4,200 

1,930 

4 

1,975 

2,020 

5 

2,0t>5 

I 

ft 

4 

16,000 

5,600 

2,558 

f 

2,603 

2,648 

2,693 

I 

15° 

26.8 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

1,038 

| 

1,108 

A 

1,178 

A 

1,248 

5 

" 

" 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

2,009 

| 

2,079 

$ 

2,149 

^ 

2,219 

I 

14 

3 

12,000 

4,200 

2,980 

4 

8,050 

£ 

3,120 

;i 

3,190 

a 

4 

16,000 

5,600 

3,965 

H 

4,050 

14 

4,135 

14 

4,220 

20° 

36.4 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

1,396 

t 

1,489 

f 

1,582 

6 

1,675 

u 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

2,703 

I 

2,796 

1 

2,889 

| 

2,982 

| 

a 

3 

4 

12,000 
16,000 

4,200 
5,600 

4,028 
!     5,364 

If 

4,142 

5,508 

4,256 
5,652 

¥ 

4,370 

25° 

46.6 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

1,746 

1 

1,862 

1 

1,978 

i 

2,094 

f 

2 
3 

4 

8,000 
1  2,000 
16,000 

2,800 
4,200 
5,600 

3,402 
5,069 
6,747 

H 

3,544 
5,250 
6,975 

i 

3,686 
5,431 
7,203 

14 

3,828 
5,612 
7,431 

f 

30° 

57.7 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

2,080 

1 

2,219 

f 

2,358 

^ 

2,497 

* 

" 

u 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

4.054 

-j-i 

4,224 

H 

4,394 

T8 

4,561 

f4 

u 

'•' 

3 

12,000 

4,200 

6,098 

i 

6,369 

i 

6,640 

^ 

6,912 

t 

" 

4 

16,000 

5,600 

8,131 

i 

8,495 

8,859 

1 

i 

35° 

70.0 

1 

4,000 

1,400 

2,399 

6 

2,558 

1 

2,717 

« 

K 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

4,727 

|. 

4,975 

1 

5,223 

5,471 

1 

•• 

(i 

3 

12,000 

4,200 

7,031 

|. 

7,344 

£ 

7,657 

7,970 

| 

u 

" 

4 

16,000 

5,600 

9,377 

1 

9,797 

i 

10,217 

1 

10,637 

i 

40° 

83.9 

1 

4,COO 

1,400 

2,699 

£ 

2,879 

1 

3,059 

f 

i 

u 

it 

2 

8,000 

2,800 

5,392 

£ 

5,744 

1 

6,096 

i 

6,4  i8 

1 

" 

n 

3 

1  2,000 

4,200 

8,031 

1 

8,503 

8,975 

1 

9,447 

i 

" 

« 

4 

16,000 

5,600    | 

10,652 

11 

11,224 

14 

11,796 

14 

45° 

100.0 

1 
2 

4,000 
8,000 

1,400 
2,800 

3,024 
5,950 

3,266 
6,339 

¥ 

3,510 
6,728 

¥ 

3,754 

7,117 

14 

« 

3 

12,000 

4,2i'0    [ 

8,864 

1 

9,385 

i 

9,906 

i 

10,427 

i 

M 

« 

4 

16,000 

5,600    ! 

11,916 

14 

12,708 

14 

13,500 

U1 

14,292 

H 

16 

II.  THE  SIMPLE  ENGINE  PLANE. 

The  name  "  engine  plane  "  has  been  given  to  an  inclined  plane  on  which  a  load 
is  raised  or  lowered  by  means  of  a  single  wire  rope  and  stationary  steam  engine. 
It  is  a  cheap  and  simple  method  of  conveying  coal  underground,  and  there- 
fore is  applied  wherever  circumstances  permit  it.  It  requires  only  a  single  track, 
a  rope  of  the  length  of  the  plane,  and  the  power  of  the  engine  only  half  the  time. 
The  road  may  be  curved  and  may  have  variable  grades,  provided  the  fall  is  in 
one  direction  and  of  sufficient  inclination  to  enable  a  full  or  empty  set  of  cars  to 
descend  by  force  of  their  own  gravity,  dragging  the  rope  after  them.  The  small- 
est grade  at  which  this  is  possible  depends  on  the  length  and  condition  of  the 
road,  as  well  as  on  the  weight  of  the  cars  and  the  rope.  Under  ordinary  condi- 
tions, such  as  prevail  in  the  Pennsylvania  mine  region,  a  train  of  twenty-five  to 
thirty  loaded  cars  will  descend,  with  reasonable  velocity,  a  straight  plane  5000 
feet  long,  on  a  grade  of  1}  feet  in  100,  while  it  would  appear  that  2J  feet  in  100 
is  necessary  for  the  same  number  of  empty  cars.  English  authorities  on  this 
subject  limit  the  grade  to  3J  feet  in  100  for  satisfactorily  working  an  engine 
plane,  but  the  English  "tubs"  compare  unfavorably  with  the  American  "pit  cars,"1 
requiring  heavier  grades  to  overcome  the  greater  friction.  It  has  been  demon- 
strated in  the  Monongahela  valley  that  engine  planes,  even  with  lighter  grades 
than  those  mentioned  above,  work  successfully,  but  it  would  not  be  safe  to 
accept  it  as  a  rule.  For  roads  longer  than  5000  feet,  or  when  containing  sharp 
curves,  the  grade  should  be  correspondingly  larger. 

A  description  of  a  few  actually  executed  engine  planes  will  give  a  clearer 
understanding  of  how  they  are  operated  under  different  circumstances,  and  what 
necessities  of  detail  are  advisable, 

Hardley  &  Marshall's  mine  offers  an  example  of  an  engine  plane  of  the  sim- 
plest kind  for  conveying  the  coal  from  a  certain  point  inside  the  mine  to  the 
"  tipple."  *  The  road  is  4600  feet  long,  with  a  total  fall  of  80  feet,  commencing 
with  three  per  cent,  for  the  first  200  feet,  then  two  per  cent,  for  the  next  1000 
feet,  and  one  and  one-half  per  cent,  for  the  remaining  part ;  average  grade,  If 
feet  in  100.  The  load  to  be  raised  consists  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  cars  of  4400 
pounds  each,  pulled  by  a  ^-inch  steel  rope  of  seven  wires  to  the  strand.  A 
round  trip  occupies  nine  minutes,  and  twenty  trips  are  made  per  day,  giving  a 
daily  output  of  nine  hundred  to  nine  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  coal.  The 
returning  train  descends  the  plane  with  a  velocity  of  fifteen  miles  per  hour.  An 
empty  pit  car  weighs  1200  pounds,  and  its  dimensions  are  six  feet  long,  four 
feet  wide  and  twenty  inches  high,  with  wheels  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  fixed 
to  the  axles.  The  gauge  of  the  track  is  two  feet,  and  the  rails  weigh  twenty-five 
pounds  per  yard.  The  rope  drum,  standing  on  top  of  the  plane,  has  a  diameter 
of  five  feet,  and  is  driven  by  a  single-acting  engine  with  a  fourteen-inch  cylinder, 
having  a  thirty-inch  stroke,  a  three-ton  fly-wheel  of  nine  feet  diameter,  and 


*  This  name  has  been  given  in  the  Monongahela  coal  region  to  an  elevated  platform,  some 
thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the  railroad  or  river,  from  which  the  coal  is  dumped  over  a  screen  into 
railroad  cars  or  boats. 


17 

gearing  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  2J.  A  wire  rope,  working  this  plane,  lasts 
about  four  years,  and  the  supporting  rollers,  which  are  placed  twenty-seven  feet 
apart,  last  about  two  years. 

Sometimes  it  is  more  convenient  to  locate  the  engine  at  the  bottom  of  the 
incline.  In  this  case  the  rope,  which  mu.st  have  twice  the  length  of  the  road,  is 
ied  from  the  drum  around  a  sheave  called  the  return-wheel,  at  the  head  of  the 
plane. 

An  example  of  this  kind,  illustrated  in  Fig.  lo,  Plate  3,  is  taken  from  the 
Standard  Mine  and  Coke  Works.  As  will  be  noticed  from  the  general  ground 
plan,  the  coal  (amounting  to  1500  tons  per  day)  is  brought  to  the  surface  par- 
tially through  a  shaft  (A)  and  partially  on  a  slope  (B).  The  latter  is  a  simple 
engine  plane,  400  feet  long,  rising  one  foot  in  three,  and  lifting  three  loaded  cars 
with  a  J-inch  steel  rope  of  nineteen  wires  to  the  strand.  The  shaft,  containing 
a  double  "cage,"  has  the  capacity  of  raising,  in  eighteen  seconds,  two  full  cars  to 
a  height  of  240  feet,  while  in  the  same  time  two  empty  ones  are  lowered.  It  is 
worked  by  an  eighty-horse  power  engine,  shown  in  its  general  disposition  in 
Fig.  16.  Near  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  there  is  a  small  engine,  provided  with 
steam  from  the  boilers  on  top,  which  works  two  underground  engine  planes. 
One,  1300  feet  long  and  rising  1J  feet  in  100,  leads  from  the  slope  to  the  shaft. 
It  is  worked  by  a  J-inch  steel  rope,  but  is  used  only  occasionally,  when  the  slope 
cannot  accommodate  all  the  coal  collected  at  its  foot.  The  other  and  principal 
plane  of  the  description  above  mentioned,  leads  from  the  shaft  to  the  parting,  a 
distance  of  900  feet,  with  an  average  rising  grade  of  four  per  cent.  It  is  worked 
by  a  f  inch  iron  rope,  with  nineteen  wires  to  the  strand,  which,  after  fifteen 
months'  service,  did  not  show  any  appreciable  wear.  The  rope  is  supported 
every  thirty  feet  by  a  wooden  roller,  the  "empty"  side  of  the  rope  running 
outside  the  track  along  the  wall  of  the  entry,  and  the  "pulling"  rope  in  the 
centre  of  the  track.  Before  passing  around  the  return-wheel  it  is  led  under  the 
rails  in  order  to  clear  the  crossings  at  the  parting,  the  same  being  the  case  for 
the  empty  rope  at  point  (M}.  The  following  is  the  mode  of  operation:  A  set 
of  empty  cars,  standing  on  track  (a-a),  is  attached  to  the  end  of  the  rope  and 
taken  up  the  incline,  a  man  riding  on  the  first  car.  At  point  (If),  called  the 
"  false  station,"  about  in  the  middle  of  the  plane,  the  engineer  stops,  and  from 
three  to  five  cars  are  detached  and  switched  into  one  of  the  side  entries.  A  boil, 
rung  by  the  train-rider,  signals  the  engineer  to  start  again,  and  the  remaining 
fifteen  cars  are  taken  to  the  regular  parting  on  tracjk  (L),  the  oth^r  track  (R) 
being  occupied  by  a  set  of  full  cars  ready  to  descend.  As  all  entries  in  this 
mine  have  considerable  grade,  each  car,  for  the  convenience  of  the  miners  and 
mule-drivers,  is  provided  with  a  hand-brake  after  the  pattern  shown  in  Fig.  17y 
Plate  6.  These  brakes,  and  in  addition  to  them  a  wooden  block  over  the  rail 
called  the  "  lock,"  prevent  the  train  from  starting  prematurely.  After  the  rope  has 
been  changed  from  the  front  of  the  empty  to  the  rear  of  the  full  set,  the  train-rider 
gives  the  signal  to  the  engineer  to  take  up  the  slack  of  the  rope,  clearing  at  the 
same  time  the  "  lock,"  which  is  turned  in  the  position  shown  in  the  sketch  (Fig.  7<V). 
If  the  train  does  not  start  immediately  a  little  jerk  on  the  rope  will  do  it,  the 


18 


train-rider  taking  his  position  on  the  last  car,  standing  on  the  rope  or  coupling- 
chain.     The  downward  speed  is  regulated  by  the  engineer  with  a  brake  on  the 


drum.     To  provide  against  accidents,  in  case  the  rope  should  break,  a  safety 
arrangement,  called  the  "  dead-latch  "  (see  Fig.  19\  near  the  foot  of  the  incline,  is 


operated  l>y  the  engineer,  to  whom  the  train-rider  gives  a  bell  signal.  During 
the  time  occupied  at  the  upper  parting  with  changing  the  rope  and  getting  ready 
for  descending,  three  full  cars  are  "braked"  down  from  the  intermediate  station 
and  the  empty  ones  are  returned  by  the  next  trip  going  up.  From  the  foot  of 
the  inclined  plane,  the  loaded  cars,  in  sets  of  two,  are  pushed  by  hand  on  the 
cage  of  the  shaft,  alternately  on  tracks  (P)  and  (§),  pushing  at  the  same  time 
the  empty  cars  down  to  point  (N)  and  up  to  (£),  where  they  rebound  and  descend 
on  track  (T),  which  leads  to  the  starting  point  (a-a)  of  the  ascending  set. 

One  of  the  oldest  plants  in  this  country  for  conveying  coal  by  means  of  wire 
rope  is  at  the  mine  of  W.  H.  Brown,  on  the  Youghiogheny  river.  It  consists 
(Fig.  20,  Plate  4)  of  two  engine  planes,  one  of  one  mile  in  length  and  a  rise  of 
3}  feet  in  100,  for  transporting  the  coal  from  the  parting  within  the  pit  to  the 
pit  mouth,  the  other  for  lowering  it  from  the  pit  mouth  to  the  tipple.  The 
latter  piano  is  one  and  one-eighth  miles  long,  falling  7.6  feet  in  100,  and  has 
several  sharp  curves.  Each  plane  is  worked  by  a  separate  engine,  located  on  the 
crest  of  the  inclines,  near  the  pit  mouth.  A  train  of  forty  or  fifty  loaded  car?, 


19 

made  up  at  the  inner  parting,  is  raised  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  per  hour  to 
point  (B),  where  the  rope  is  "  knocked  off/'  the  cars  descending  by  their  acquired 
momentum  to  point  (C),  on  the  left-hand  track.  Here  the  rope  of  the  other 
engine  is  hitched  to  the  tail-end  of  the  train,  which  descends  by  force  of  its  own 
gravity  to  the  tipple.  Now  this  rope  is  changed  to  the  first'  car  of  an  empty 
train  and  knocked  off  again,  when  the  latter  arrives  at  (C).  Taking  this  time 
the  right-hand  track  its  momentum  will  carry  it  to  (B),  and  from  there  will  run 
alone  into  the  mine,  dragging  the  pit  rope  after  it.  The  service  is  of  course 
arranged  so  that  both  engines  raise  or  lower  at  the  same  time,  and  each  rope 
receives  and  despatches  without  delay  the  set  just  raised  by  the  other  rope. 
The  first  pit  rope,  which  was  of  iron  and  of  |-inch  diameter,  lasted  six  years, 
and  the  present  one,  also  an  iron  rope,  of  IJ-inch  diameter,  with  seven  wires  to 
the  strand,  is  still  in  good  condition  after  six  years'  service.  For  the  outside 
plane  a  J-inch  steel  rope  has  been  in  use  for  eleven  years,  and  promises  to  last  a 
few  years  longer.  The  durability  of  these  ropes  is  perhaps  partially  due  to  the 
care  with  which  they  are  treated ;  every  three  months  they  receive  a  coating  of 
pine  tar,  and  all  rollers  are  oiled  every  other  day.  The  latter  have  a  diameter 
of  eight  inches,  and  are  placed  twenty  feet  apart.  They  last  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  months.  For  the  curves,  cast-iron  sheaves  of  12- inch  diameter  are 
used,  set  between  the  two  rails  at  a  slight  angle,  as  shown  in  Fig.  21.  In  the 
sharpest  curves  they  must  be  replaced  every  six  months,  but  in  the  easier  ones 
they  last  one  year  or  longer.  About  twenty  trips  are  made  per  day,  and  the 
output  is  19,000  bushels  (at  76  pounds)  of  clear  coal,  and  4000  bushels  of 
"slack."  This  name  is  given  to  the  small  pieces  falling  through  a  screen  with 
1  J-inch  meshes,  over  which  the  coal  is  dumped  into  the  railroad  cars  or  boats. 

The  rope  attachment  consists  of  a  goose-neck  socket,  fourteen  inches  long, 
riveted  with  three  f-inch  rivets,  and  coupled  to  a  chain  ten  feet  long,  with  swivel 
and  clevis  at  the  other  end.  In  descending  the  outer  incline,  the  coupling-chain 
is  led  under  the  last  car  and  hitched  to  the  pulling- bar  of  next  to  the  last  car,, 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  it  down  and  making  the  rope  drop  into  the  guiding- 
sheaves  at  the  curves. 

The  car-coupling  is  a  rigid  coupling,  consisting  of  a  clinch-hook,  eighteen 
inches  long  by  one  and  three-eighth  inches  square.  In  addition  to  it  there  are- 
two  safety-chains  (see  Fig.  17b,  Plate  6).  These  safety-chains  form  the  only 
coupling  for  the  last  car  on  the  train  descending  on  the  outer  incline. 

A  parallel  case  to  the  plant  just  described  is  afforded  at  the  mine  of  Foster,, 
Clark  &  Wood,  where  two  similarly  situated  engine  planes  are  worked  by  a 
single  engine  and  a  single  rope  (Fig.  £?,  Plate  j£).  To  accomplish  this,  the 
drum  (D)  is  placed  in  the  line  of  and  under  the  main  track,  so  that  the  cars  can 
pass  over  it.  A  full  train  of  forty-six  cars  starts  from  the  parting  within  the 
pit,  and  is  pulled  up  grade  for  a  distance  of  4500  feet,  until  the  first  car  reaches 
the  drum.  Here  the  rope  is  knocked  off,  carried  by  hand  over  the  drum  and 
attached  again  to  the  rear  car  of  the  train,  which  in  the  meantime  has  traveled 
the  distance  of  its  own  length  by  its  acquired  momentum.  Now  the  drum  is 
put  out  of  gear  and  the  cars  descend  the  outer  incline  by  force  of  gravity.  The 


20 


latter  plane  has  a  length  of  6300  feet  and  falls  1J  feet  in  100,  while  the  pit 
plane  has  a  rise  of  2  feet  in  100.  From  the  foot  of  the  engine  plane  to  the 
check-house,  a  distance  of  1200  feet,  the  cars  are  taken  over  a  level  road  by 
horses,  and  then  in  sets  of  three  are  lowered  to  the  tipple  on  a  self-acting  inclined 
plane  of  1500  feet  length.  On  the  return  trip,  when  the  set  arrives  at  the  drum, 
the  latter  is  thrown  out  of  gear,  the  rope  is  knocked  off  and  replaced  by  a  sepa- 
rate rope,  worked  by  a  separate  drum,  which  pulls  the  train  up  an  easy  grade  to 
the  head  of  the  incline,  located  inside  the  entry,  about  200  feet  from  the  pit 
mouth.  The  train-rider,  who  stands  on  the  first  car,  drops  the  auxiliary  rope  at 
this  point,  and  the  set  descends  to  the  parting  by  gravity,  checked  by  a  brake  on 
the  drum.  While  the  train,  pulled  by  a  separate  rope,  is  passing  over  the  drum, 
the  engineer  attaches  the  main  rope  to  the  rear  car.  The  train  itself,  therefore, 
takes  the  rope  on  the  other  side  of  the  drum  and  drags  it  into  the  pit. 

The  wooden  supporting-rollers  are  six  inches  in  diameter,  placed  twenty  feet 
apart.  The  iron  guiding-sheaves  in  the  curves  have  a  diameter  of  eight  inches, 
and  are  similar  to  those  previously  described.  The  main  rope  and  the  rope  of 
the  self-acting  incline  have  a  diameter  of  f  inch,  the  auxiliary  rope  of  f  inch. 
They  are  steel  ropes,  with  seven  wires  to  the  strand,  and  have  been  in  service 
for  several  years  without  showing  appreciable  signs  of  wear.  When  descending 
the  outer  incline,  a  peculiar  arrangement  is  used  for  keeping  the  rope  low  enough 
to  drop  into  the  guiding-sheaves.  A  3xf-inch  bar  (Fig.  23),  forged  in  the  shape 


as  shown,  passes  under  the  last  car  and  is  coupled  with  the  pins  («)  and  (b)  to  the 
pulling-bars  of  the  last  and  second  last  car.     The  rope  is  attached  to  the  end  of 


.  24  . 


o 


0 


this^bar,  which  is  two  and  a  half  inches  lower  than  the  regular  pulling-bar. 
Arriving  at  the  foot  of  the  plane,  it  is  dropped  and  thrown  on  the  returning 


^^/^/^^^ 


21 

empty  train.  For  connecting  the  cars  a  rigid  coupling  is  used,  consisting  of  two 
flat  irons  eighteen  inches  long,  and  a  wooden  filling  piece  riveted  together 
(Fig.  L24).  The  ends  are  provided  with  eyes  for  securing  them  to  the  pulling-bar 
of  the  cars  with  pins.  A  round  trip  is  made  in  about  thirty -minutes,  and  the 
daily  output  in  twenty  trips  amounts  from  900  to  950  tons. 

Of  the  many  other  engine  planes  distributed  throughout  the  Pennsylvania 
coal  region  we  will  also  mention  those  at  the  mine  of  the  Mansfield  Coal  and 
•Coke  Co.,  where,  by  means  of  a  |-inch  steel  rope,  twelve  loaded  pit  cars  are 
lowered  on  a  long,  steep  and  crooked  plane  from  the  pit  mouth  to  the  tipple. 

At  the  Imperial  mine  an  engine  plane  has  been  applied  to  replace  a 
locomotive  for  shifting  the  railroad  cars  to  and  from  the  tipple  (Fig.  ;~,\. 


The  cars  are  operated  by  means  of  a  1-inch  steel  rope  and  by  the  same  engine 
which  works  an  endless  rope  system  for  hauling  the  coal  from  the  pit.  The 
engine-house  being  located  much  higher  than  the  railroad,  and  at  considerable 
distance  from  it,  it  was  necessary  to  turn  two  sharp  angles  with  the  rope  by  leading 
it  around  iron  sheaves  of  five  feet  diameter.  The  rope  has  a  lengtk  of  2200 
feet,  and  a  constant  service  of  three  years  left  it  still  in  good  condition.  The 
railroad  has  a  grade  of  one  foot  in  thirty-two,  and,  as  seen  by  the  sketch, 
turns  a  sharp  curve,  around  which  the  rope  is  guided  by  eight  iron  sheaves  of 
30-inch  diameter,  placed  outside  the  track  and  twenty-five  feet  apart. 

Another  application  of  the  engine  plane  principle  is  a  wire  rope  arrangement 
for  feeding  coke  ovens.  A  plant  of  this  kind  is  in  operation  at  the  works 
of  the  Stewart  Iron  Co.,  which  will  be  described  in  another  chapter.  At  the 
same  mine  there  is  a  slope  for  hauling  coal  from  the  pit  to  the  tipple,  operated 
in  a  different  manner  from  those  hitherto  described.  In  place  of  a  general  part- 
ing at  the  end  of  the  plane^  for  arranging  the  trains,  there  are  five  side  entries, 


22 

240  feet  apart,  from  which  alternately  sets  of  five  cars  are  taken  and  returned; 
(Fig.  £6,  Plate  5).  At  the  junction  of  each  entry  with  the  main  road,  a  wooden 
drum,  of  five  feet  diameter  and  twenty  inches  face,  is  placed  outside  the  track 
and  within  six  inches  of  the  rail,  for  the  guidance  of  the  rope  around  the  corner 
when  being  attached  to  the  cars  standing  on  the  side  track.  By  a  mark  on  the 
rope,  indicating  the  position  of  the  set  inside  the  pit,  the  engineer  is  able  to  stop 
the  "empties"  alternately  at  the  different  junctions.  A  man,  passing  from  one 
junction  to  another,  attends  the  switches,  detaches  and  attaches  the  rope,  and  gives 
to  the  engineer  a  bell  signal  to  hoist  or  to  lower,  as  circumstances  may  require. 
The  whole  length  of  the  rope  is  1700  feet — 1200  feet  being  used  on  the  slope, 
200  feet  from  the  head  of  the  slope  to  the  tipple,  and  300  feet  from  there  to  the 
drum  below.  It  is  made  of  steel,  of  one  inch  diameter,  with  nineteen  wires  to 
the  strand.  The  grade  of  the  slope  from  the  top  to  the  first  side  entry,  a  distance 
of  240  feet,  is  one  foot  in  three,  and  from  there  to  the  end,  eight  feet  in  a  hun- 
dred. The  supporting  rollers  have  a  diameter  of  eight  inches,  and  are  placed 
twenty  feet  apart.  A  single  car  carries  2500  pounds  of  coal,  and  the  quantity 
taken  out  per  day  is  from  250  to  300  tons. 

A  safety  arrangement,  almost  universally  used  on  engine  planes,  where  the 
load  is  raised,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  27,  Plate  6,  in  different  shapes.  It  consists  of 
an  iron  bar,  two  inches  square  and  four  and  a  half  feet  long,  called  the  "growler," 
attached  with  a  loose  joint  to  the  last  car,  so  that  it  easily  drags  over  the  ground 
and  rollers.  If  the  rope  should  break,  the  pointed  end  of  the  growler  digs  itself 
in  the  ground  and  stops  the  downward  motion  or  throws  the  cars  off  the  track. 
Sometimes  the  growler  is  attached  to  the  front  car  in  lowering  a  loaded  train 
down  a  steep  incline.  In  this  case  a  construction,  as  shown  in  Fig.  27A,  may  be 
employed.  The  iron  bar  is  held  high  by  a  chain  (s),  which  can  be  unhooked  if 
the  link  (w)  is  pulled  back  by  means  of  a  light  hemp  rope  running  over  the  cars 
to  the  rear  of  the  train,  and  operated  by  the  train-rider. 

The  wire  ropes  for  working  an  engine  plane  should  in  all  cases  have  a  safety 
factor  of  5  to  6 — that  is,  their  breaking  strength  should  be  five  or  six  times 
larger  than  the  working  strain.  Where  a  breakage  of  the  rope  might  cause 
great  damage  to  property,  or  would  endanger  life,  a  factor  of  6  to  7  is  to  be 
recommended. 


III.   THE  TAIL  ROPE  SYSTEM. 

Of  all  methods  for  conveying  coal  underground  by  wire  rope,  the  Tail  Kope 
System  has  justly  found  the  most  application.  It  can  be  applied  under  almost 
any  condition.  The  road  may  be  straight  or  curved,  level  or  undulating,  in  one 
continuous  line  or  with  side  branches — in  all  cases  this  system  works  with  equal 
certainty  and  economy.  In  general  principle  a  tail  rope  plane  is  the  same  as  an 
engine  plane  worked  in  both  directions  with  two  ropes.  One  rope,  called  the 
"main  rope,"  serves  for  drawing  the  set  of  full  cars  outward ;  the  other,  called 
the  "  tail  rope,"  is  necessary  to  take  back  the  empty  set,  which  on  a  level  or 
undulating  road  cannot  return  by  gravity.  The  two  drums  may  be  located  at 


23 

the  opposite  ends  of  the  road,  and  driven  by  separate  engines,  but  more  fre- 
quently they  are  on  the  same  shaft  at  one  end  of  the  plane.  In  the  first  case 
^ach  rope  would  require  the  length  of  the  plane,  but  in  the  second  case  the  tail 
rope  must  be  twice  as  long,  being  led  from  the  drum  around  a  sheave  at  the 
other  end  of  the  plane  and  back  again  to  its  starting  point.  When  the  main 
rope  draws  a  set  of  full  cars  out,  the  tail  rope  drum  runs  loose  on  the  shaft,  and 
the  rope,  being  attached  to  the  rear  car,  unwinds  itself  steadily.  Going  in,  the 
reverse  takes  place.  Each  drum  is  provided  with  a  brake  to  check  the  speed  of 
the  train  on  a  down  grade  and  prevent  its  overrunning  the  forward  rope.  As  a 
rule,  the  tail  rope  is  strained  less  than  the  main  rope,  but  in  cases  of  heavy 
grades  dipping  outward  it  is  possible  that  the  strain  in  the  former  may  become 
as  large,  or  even  larger,  than  in  the  latter,  and  in  the  selection  of  the  sizes  refer- 
ence should  be  had  to  this  circumstance. 

A  description  of  a  few  tail  rope  planes  will  more  fully  explain  this  system. 
Fig.  28,  Plate  7,  illustrates  the  general  plan  of  the  extensive  establishment  of 
the  Birmingham  Coal  Co.  It  consists  of  two  planes,  joining  each  other,  one 
14,450  feet,  the  other  9900  feet  long,  each  worked  by  a  main  and  tail  rope.  In 
connection  with  them  there  are  two  gravity  planes  of  about  1800  feet  length,  so 
that  it  requires  an  aggregate  length  of  over  fourteen  miles  of  wire  rope  for  trans- 
porting the  coal  from  the  parting  within  the  pit  to  the  tipple.  The  road  is 
straight,  with  undulating  grades  varying  from  J  to  2  feet  in  100,  and  takes  its 
course  from  the  mine  through  open  country,  over  bridges  and  through  various 
tunnels,  the  trains  moving  at  a  speed  of  eight  miles  per  hour.  A  set,  consisting 
of  from  60  to  75  loaded  cars,  starts  from  track  (M )  of  the  parting,  the  main 
rope  being  attached  to  the  front,  the  tail  rope  to  the  rear  of  the  train.  When 
arriving  at  point  (X)  the  main  rope  is  knocked  off  by  a  man  stationed  there, 
and  the  train  runs  on  a  light  down  grade  alternately  to  track  (L)  or  (R),  the  tail 
rope  being  knocked  off  when  the  last  car  reaches  points  ( Y)  or  ( FI). 

The  former  trains  are  taken  by  a  locomotive  to  one  shipping  station,  the 
latter  to  another  station  by  a  second  main  and  tail  rope  attached  to  the  ends 
of  the  train  at  the  points  (T)  and  (Fi).  On  the  return  trip  of  the  empty 
set  these  ropes  are  detached  at  the  same  points  and  the  tail  rope  of  the  other 
plane  is  hitched  to  the  forward  part  of  the  train  at  (F),  or  at  (Fi)  if  the  set 
arrives  by  locomotive,  while  the  main  rope,  without  stoppage,  is  coupled  to  the 
rear  car  at  (X)  when  passing  this  point.  All  coupling  and  uncoupling  of  ropes, 
switching  and  giving  signals  at  the  junction  of  the  two  planes,  is  done  by  one 
man,  while  another  one  attends  to  the  same  duties  at  the  parting.  The  signals 
are  given  by  telephone,  and  no  train-rider  accompanies  the  trips.  A  full  set  has 
a  weight  of  120  to  150  tons,  a  single  car  carrying  1J  tons  of  coal,  and  weighing, 
empty,  J  of  a  ton.  Its  dimensions  are  6  feet  4  inches  long,  by  28  inches  wide 
at  the  bottom  and  42  inches  at  the  top,  and  30  inches  deep.  The  wheels  have  a 
diameter  of  18  inches,  running  loose  on  2J-inch  axles,  which  are  placed  two  feet 
apart.  The  car-coupling  consists  of  a  short  chain,  with  a  clevis  at  each  end, 
secured  to  the  pulling-bar,  and  the  usual  two  safety-chains  (Fig.  17*,  Plate  6). 
The  main  rope  has  a  diameter  of  J  inches,  the  tail  rope  of  f  inches ;  both  are  of 


24 

steel,  with  seven  wires  to  the  strand,  and  were  still  in  good  condition  after 
several  years'  service.  Their  attachment  consists  of  a  goose-neck  socket  and: 
clevis,  with  a  single  intervening  link  (Fig.  89,  Plate  7).  The  main  rope  is- 
supported  in  the  middle  of  the  track  by  wooden  rollers  of  8-inch  diameter  and 
24  inches  long,  placed  at  distances  of  25  feet;  the  "empty"  tail  rope  runs 
alongside  the  track  over  rollers  of  6- inch  diameter  and  11  inches  long,  supported 
from  the  roof  or  side  wall  of  the  entries,  or  outside  of  them,  resting  on  specially 
erected  frames,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  SO. 

This  sketch  represents,  also,  the  upright  "  return-wheel "  for  the  tail  rope  at 
the  end  of  the  lower  plane.  It  has  a  diameter  of  7  feet,  and  consists  of  a 
grooved  iron  rim,  lined  with  wood,  but  otherwise  not  differing  in  construction 
from  an  ordinary  heavy  iron  hoisting-wheel.  The  rope  drums  have  a  diameter 
of  7  feet,  and  can  be  put  in  or  out  of  gear  by  a  "  V  clutch."  Each  system  is 
driven  by  an  80-horse  power  double-acting  engine,  with  two  cylinders  of  14- inch 
diameter  by  36-inch  stroke,  making  65  to  70  revolutions  a  minute,  a  5-foot 
pinion  and  12-foot  spur-wheel,  with  9-inch  face.  A  round  trip  occupies  45  min- 
utes, and  the  daily  output  averages  1200  tons. 

A  tail  rope  system,  with  drums  driven  by  separate  engines  and  located  on  the 
opposite  ends  of  the  plane,  is  represented  at  the  works  of  the  Mansfield  Coal  and 
Coke  Co.  (Fig.  31,  Plate  8).  The  road  is  4900  feet  long,  with  no  uniform 
grade  and  with  two  sharp  curves  forming  an  S  inside  the  pit.  It  is  worked  by 
a  f-inch  steel  rope,  both  for  main  and  tail  rope.  The  drum  (A)  for  the  former 
is  located  near  the  pit  mouth,  while  the  tail  rope  crosses  the  track  under  the- 
rails  at  (Z),  not  far  from  the  return-wheel,  and  is  led  through  a  separate  entry 
of  1300  feet  length  to  drum  (B)  at  the  mouth  of  this  entry.  Both  drums  have 
a  diameter  of  5  feet;  each  is  worked  by  a  30-horse  power  single-acting  engine,, 
with  a  12x30-inch  cylinder,  8-foot  fly-wheel,  18-inch  pinion,  and  4-foot  10-inch 
spur-wheel  on  6-inch  shafts.  An  extra  drum  (C),  placed  on  the  same  shaft  with 
the  main  drum,  serves  for  working  the  engine  plane,  on  which  the  full  cars- 
coming  from  the  pit  are  lowered  to  the  tipple,  and  which  has  been  mentioned 
already  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  following  is  the  mode  of  operation :  A 
set  of  24  full  cars  starts  from  track  (M)  of  the  parting,  with  main  and  tail  rope 
attached  to  the  first  and  last  car,  and  is  pulled  out  with  a  velocity  of  10  miles- 
per  hour.  As  soon  as  the  first  car  comes  outside  the  pit  the  main  rope  is- 
knocked  off  and  the  train  allowed  to  run  by  its  own  momentum  as  far  as  (P),  at 
the  head  of  the  engine  plane.  When  the  last  car  has  emerged  from  the  pit  the- 
tail  rope  is  detached  at  point  (Q)  and  replaced  by  the  f-inch  rope  of  the  engine 
plane.  This  latter  rope  passes  around  a  7-foot  sheave  in  ord^r  to  bring  it  in  the- 
direction  of  the  road.  A  "lock"  at  point  (P),  which  prevented  the  premature 
descent  of  the  cars,  is  now  opened,  and  the  train  is  let  down,  checked  with  a. 
brake  on  drum  (C).  On  the  return  trip  the  different  operations  are  repeated  in 
reversed  order.  The  last  car  of  each  train,  ingoing  as  well  as  outgoing,  is  ai 
special  car,  called  the  "  dilly  "  (Fig.  32).  It  consists  of  a  small  truck,  loaded  with 
metal,  and  the  coupling-bar  low  enough  to  hold  the  rope  down  and  guide  it  into* 
the  sheaves  when  going  around  the  curves.  For  the  easier  curves,  ordinary  irom 


25 

isheaves  of  10-inch  diameter  are  used,  placed  inside  the  track,  but  at  the  two 
sharp  turning  points  a  number  of  old  pit  wheels  of  18-inch  diameter  are  placed 
outside  the  track  on  the  concave  side  of  the  curve.  As  this  produces  a  sideward 
pull,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  these  points  with  guard-rails  to  prevent  the  cars 
running  off  the  track.  At  either  end  of  the  road  the  dilly  is  left  on  the  parting 
and  pushed  by  hand  to  the  rear  of  the  train  after  the  latter  has  reached  the  main 
track.  A  signal  is  given  to  the  engineers  for  one  to  hoist  and  the  other  to  watch 
the  loose  drum  and  keep  the  dragged  rope  taught,  but  no  train-rider  accompanies 
the  trip. 

The  coal  works  of  Gray  &  Bell  employ,  at  their  different  mines,  a  combination 
of  nearly  all  wire  rope  systems  for  conveying  coal.  Fig.  33,  Plate  8,  represents 
a  general  plan  of  one  mine  which  is  worked  by  a  main  and  tail  rope  upon  the 
principle  just  described.  The  drum  and  engine  for  the  main  rope  are  near  the 
pit  mouth,  while  the  tail  rope  drum  is  located  inside  the  pit,  about  550  feet  from 
the  return-wheel,  at  the  foot  of  a  ventilating  shaft.  The  road  has  a  length  of 
6600  feet,  with  a  total  fall  of  120  feet,  the  average  grade,  dipping  inward,  being 
15  inches  in  100  feet,  but  at  some  places  4  or  5  feet  iii  100.  It  consists  of  two 
straight  lines  forming  an  angle  of  106  degrees,  around  which  the  rope  is 
guided  in  a  sharp  curve  by  means  of  six  iron,  wood-lined  sheaves  of  18-inch 
diameter,  placed  ten  feet  apart  outside  the  track,  on  the  concave  side  of  the 
curve.  The  wood  filling  in  these  sheaves  has  to  be  replaced  about  every  three 
months.  Guard-rails  are  placed  at  this  point  for  the  guidance  of  the  cars. 
Unlike  the  other  tail  rope  systems,  where  the  rope  ends  are  attached  to  the  ends 
of  the  train,  the  two  ropes  of  this  plane  are  connected  and  therefore  practically 
made  endless.  The  connection  consists  (Fig.  S^  Plate  9}  of  a  chain  four  feet 
long,  attached  to  the  ends  of  the  ropes  by  means  of  goose-neck  sockets.  It  con- 
tains, in  the  middle,  a  solid  cylindrical  link,  with  a  loose  ring  on  it,  to  which 
the  cars  are  hitched  with  a  10-foot  coupling-chain.  The  loose  ring  admits  a 
free  turning  of  the  rope,  replacing  a  swivel  in  the  chain,  and  answering  the  same 
purpose  fully  as  well,  or  even  more  effectively.  There  are  four  such  couplings, 
placed  at  a,  a%,  a3  and  a4,  at  such  distances  that  when  the  first  car  of  a  train  is  at 
a,  the  rear  car  reaches  either  to  a%,  a8  or  «4,  according  to  the  number  of  cars  in 
the  train,  which  always  is  composed  either  of  25,  36  or  40  cars.  The  latter 
number,  being  the  maximum  for  one  train,  represents  a  weight  of  80  tons,  which 
is  taken  by  a  f-inch  steel  rope  over  a  distance  of  6600  feet  in  fifteen  minutes, 
and  lifted  to  a  height  of  120  feet.  Calculating  the  strain  on  the  rope  for  this 
load,  when  ascending  a  grade  of  5  per  cent.,  we  find  that  it  will  amount  to  6 
tons,  or  more  than  one-half  of  its  breaking  strength.  In  consequence  of  this 
excessive  strain  with  which  the  ropes  are  taxed,  one  year's  service  is  considered 
a  sufficient  duty.  The  main  rope  is  replaced  every  year  by  a  new  one,  and  for 
the  following  year  it  is  used  as  tail  rope,  and  after  two  years'  service  is  entirely 
discarded.  The  following  is  the  method  employed  for  working  this  plane: 
No  coal  is  mined  between  the  pit  mouth  and  return-wheel ;  it  is  collected  by 
mule-drivers  from  the  interior  entries  of  the  mine,  and  arranged  as  a  set  of  25 
to  40  cars  on  track  (L)  of  the  parting.  The  first  car  is  hitched  to  the  main  rope,  the 


26 

last  car  left  free,  but  provided  with  a  safety-bar  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  #7a,  Plate  6. 
On  a  bell  signal  given  to  the  engineers  the  main  rope  winds  up  and  the  tail  rope 
unwinds  itself,  the  train  moving  out  accompanied  by  a  train-rider  on  the 
front  car.  When  within  15  or  20  feet  of  the  pit  mouth  the  engine  is  stopped, 
the  train-rider  pulls  the  coupling-pin  of  the  chain,  letting  the  train  run  by  its 
own  momentum  to  the  tipple.  The  short  distance  from  the  tipple  to  the  pit 
mouth  makes  it  necessary  to  take  the  empty  cars,  with  a  mule,  to  the  end  of  the 
switch  inside  the  pit,  about  200  feet  from  the  entrance.  The  first  car  of  the 
empty  set  is  now  hitched  to  (a),  these  rope-couplings  being  arranged  so  that 
they  never  go  around  the  drum  nor  return-wheel,  and  always  stop  at  the  same 
points  between  («4)  and  (m).  The  rear  car  is  also  hitched  to  one  of  the  other 
couplings,  to  prevent  the  cars  from  overrunning  each  other  on  the  steep  'down 
grades.  When  arriving  at  (m)  the  train-rider  pulls  the  coupling-pin  and  runs 
the  train  on  the  right  hand  track  (.If)  of  the  parting,  and  the  whole  operation  is 
repeated  \vith  the  next  set.  The  advantage  of  the  endless  rope  consists,  first  and 
principally,  in  the  fact  that  the  rope  always  runs  in  the  sheaves  and  rollers,  and 
does  not  require  a  "dilly,"  adilly-bar  "  or  other  arrangement  to  guide  it  in  the 
sheaves  ;  secondly,  it  saves  for  the  outgoing  trains  the  work  of  coupling  the  last 
car.  The  combined  length  of  main  and  tail  rope  is  14,000  feet,  and  both 
branches  are  supported  every  21  feet  by  6-inch  wooden  rollers,  which  last  from 
five  to  six  months.  The  return-wheel  has  a  diameter  of  4  feet,  and  its  rim  has 
a  wood  filling  which  has  not  been  replaced  in  ten  years.  The  main  rope  drum 
has  a  diameter  of  5  feet,  with  a  20-inch  face;  it  is  driven  by  a  single-acting 
engine,  with  a  16-inch  cylinder,  having  a  24- inch  stroke,  a  5-ton  fly-wheel  and 
a  gearing  of  1  to  2J-.  It  has  about  50  per  cent,  more  power  than  necessary  to 
pull  a  train  of  40  cars  from  the  parting  to  the  pit  mouth  at  a  rate  of  five  miles 
per  hour.  The  average  daily  output  is  1000  tons  of  coal. 

Another  wire  rope  plant,  owned  by  the  same  company,  for  transporting  coal 
over  a  distance  of  13,390  feet,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  35,  Plate  9.  It  consists  of 
two  tail  rope  systems,  an  engine  plane  and  a  self-acting  plane,  all  worked  by 
|-inch  steel  ropes.  The  coal,  collected  from  the  mine  back  of  the  parting  (L),  is 
taken  in  trains  of  28  cars  by  a  tail  rope  system  to  the  pit  mouth,  from  here  by  a 
single  rope  and  engine  plane  through  an  old  pit  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  then  in 
single  cars  down  a  self-acting  incline  of  1320  feet  length,  and  finally  in  sets  of 
46  cars  by  a  second  tail  rope  system  through  a  tunnel  to  the  shipping  station. 

A  little  variation  will  be  noticed  in  the  position  of  the  drums  of  the  upper 
tail  rope  plane.  Instead  of  being  on  the  same  shaft  they  are  placed  behind  each 
other,  which  necessitates  a  second  return-wheel  for  the  tail  rope  close  to  the 
drum.  The  diameter  of  the  drum  is  5  feet.  An  extra  drum  of  4-foot  diameter 
is  placed  on  the  same  shaft  of  the  main  drum  for  working  a  J-inch  rope,  which 
is  attached  to  the  rear  car  of  the  train  when  it  ascends  the  engine  plane  to  station 
(C).  At  point  (jF),  about  in  the  middle  of  the  tunnel,  the  train-rider  drops  this 
rope,  which  afterwards  serves  to  haul  the  empty  cars  from  the  foot  of  the  engine 
plane  back  to  station  (J5).  The  gravity  inclined  plane,  as  operated  in  this  plant, 
has  already  been  described  in  the  first  chapter,  and  is  represented  in  Fig.  £Ct. 


27 

Plate  1.  At  the  mouth  of  the  last  tunnel  there  is  not  sufficient  room  between 
tunnel  entrance  and  drum  to  haul  the  whole  train  out ;  therefore,  as  soon  as 
the  first  car  emerges  from  the  tunnel  it  is  detached  from  the  main  rope,  the 
tail  rope  drum  is  put  in  gear,  the  main  rope  drum  out  of  gear,  and  the  coupling 
of  the  main  rope  hauled  back  to  the  last  car.  To  this  it  is  hitched  again,  so  that 
after  reversing  the  gear  of  the  two  drums  the  train  finally  is  pushed  out.  The 
daily  output  of  this  mine  is  21,000  bushels,  or  798  tons,  and  the  owners  estimate 
that  150  mu^es  and  the  corresponding  number  of  drivers  would  not  be  sufficient 
to  perform  the  same  work  as  is  done  by  the  rope  systems  in  the  two  mines,  while 
the  wear  and  tear  of  the  ropes,  with  the  maintenance  of  rollers,  sheaves,  &c., 
does  not  exceed  one  cent  per  ton. 

Another  variation  of  the  tail  rope  system,  illustrated  in  Fig.  36,  Plate  10,  rep- 
resents the  arrangement  at  Lewis  Staib's  mine,  on  the  Monongahela  river. 
Though  the  drums  are  not  located  at  the  end  of  the  plane,  it  is  managed  by 
means  of  two  return-wheels,  one  at  the  parting  (L),  the  other  at  the  tipple  (B),  to 
•convey  the  coal  between  these  two  points  in  one  uninterrupted  pull.  The  main 
rope  is  supported,  as  usual,  in  the  middle  of  the  track,  on  6-inch  rollers,  placed 
18  feet  apart,  while  the  tail  rope  runs  overhead  on  rollers  supported  from  the 
roof  of  the  pit.  From  the  engine-house  to  the  tipple  the  road  runs  over  a  trestle. 
The  empty  main  rope  is  led  under  the  rails  in  order  to  clear  the  crossings,  and 
from  point  (C)  it  is  stretched  to  the  drum  without  any  support.  Fig.  37  shows 
the  sheaves  at  the  sharp  turning-points  of  the  road.  The  engine  is  double-acting, 
with  10x1 2-inch  cylinders,  4-foot  drums,  and  a  gearing  of  1  to  5J.  The  road 
dips  inward,  with  various  grades,  averaging  2  feet  in  100,  and  has  many  curves 
around  which  the  rope  is  guided  by  12-inch  wooden  sheaves.  A  round  trip  from 
the  parting  to  the  tipple  and  back  again  occupies  twelve  minutes,  and  the  daily 
output  of  coal  amounts  from  750  to  900  tons.  The  main  rope  has  a  diameter  of 
|  inch,  the  tail  rope  of  f  inch ;  both  are  of  steel,  with  seven  wires  to  the  strand. 
The  total  cost  of  the  plant,  including  engine  and  engine-house,  is  estimated  at 
$8000.  It  furnishes  an  excellent  example  of  the  adaptability  of  the  main  and 
tail  rope  principle  under  very  inconvenient  circumstances. 

A  wire  rope  plane,  almost  identical  with  this  in  general  arrangement,  is  also 
in  operation  at  the  mine  of  James  Jones.  The  drums  are  located  850  feet  from 
the  return-wheel  at  the  tipple  and  one-half  mile  from  that  at  the  parting.  About 
400  tons  of  coal  are  mined  per  day,  and  conveyed  over  the  distance  of  3500  feet 
by  a  f-inch  main  and  J-inch  tail  rope,  which  replace  the  service  of  twelve  mules 
and  six  drivers. 

Fig.  38,  Plate  10,  representing  Horner  &  Roberts'  colliery,  shows  an  example 
where  two  branches  are  worked  by  a  main  and  tail  rope  system.  The  road  dips 
from  the  pit  mouth  to  the  parting  (B)  at  a  rate  of  5  feet  in  100,  but  from  the 
junction  of  the  two  branches  at  (A)  to  the  parting  of  the  side  entry  it  is  almost 
level.  If  an  empty  set  is  intended  for  the  side  branch,  it  is  taken  in  by  the 
usual  way  with  tail  rope  in  front  and  main  rope  in  the  rear  of  the  train.  Returning 
from  this  branch  the  tail  rope  is  hitched  to  the  second  last  car,  the  last  one  being 
provided  with  a  growler  (Fig.  £7b,  Plate  6).  If,  however,  a  set  is  intended  for  the 


28 

parting  (5),  the  train-rider,  who  accompanies  every  trip,  gives  to  the  engineer  a 
signal  to  stop  at  the  junction  of  the  branches.  He  detaches  the  tail  line,  throwing 
it  out  of  the  way  to  one  side  of  the  track,  and  lets  the  train  descend  by  gravity 
to  the  parting  (J3).  When  returning  with  the  full  trip  another  stop  is  made  at 
the  junction  for  the  purpose  of  attaching  the  tail  rope  again  to  the  rear  car.  As 
the  growler  would  interfere  with  this  coupling  if  secured  to  the  last  car,  it  is 
hitched  to  the  second  last  car  on  all  trains^leaving  station  (5),  and  the  last  car  is 
coupled  only  with  the  safety-chains.  The  road  to  (B),  therefore,  is  nothing  but 
a  simple  engine  plane,  worked  by  the  main  rope  of  the  tail  rope  plane.  A  regu- 
lar full  trip  consists  of  40  cars,  carrying  1600  bushels,  equal  to  60  tons  of  coal, 
and  representing  a  total  weight  of  86  tons.  About  fifteen  trips  are  made  per 
day,  giving  an  output  of  900  tons.  Both  main  and  tail  ropes  are  of  steel,  with 
seven  wires  to  the  strand,  the  first  of  J-inch  diameter,  the  latter  of  f-inch.  The 
supporting-rollers  are  placed  18  feet  apart,  those  for  the  tail  rope  being  sup- 
ported from  the  roof  of  the  entry.  The  rope  attachment  consists  of  an  ordinary 
socket  and  a  heavy  chain  eight  feet  long,  without  swivel.  The  weight  of  the 
chain  helps  to  keep  the  rope  down  and  facilitates  its  dropping  in  the  sheaves  at 
the  curves.  At  the  junction  of  the  two  branches,  four  wooden  rollers,  of  8-inch 
diameter  by  24  inches  long,  are  placed  in  upright  positions  outside  the  track,  to 
guide  the  ropes  around  the  corner  (Fig.  39}.  Both  ropes  have  been  in  use  three 
and  one-half  years  without  showing  noticeable  signs  of  abrasion.  They  receive,, 
occasionally,  a  coating  of  a  mixture  of  tar,  oil  and  finely-ground  burnt  lime, 
which  helps  to  preserve  them.  The  maintenance  expense  of  rollers  and  sheaves 
does  not  exceed  ten  dollars  a  year. 

Another  notable  tail  rope  system  is  at  the  Smithton  mine,  on  the  Youghiogheny 
river.  The  plane  has  a  length  of  1^  miles,  with  an  undulating  grade  (Fig.  JfDr 
Plate,  IT)  and  many  curves.  It  is  worked  by  a  -f  -inch  steel  rope,  supported  every 
twelve  feet  by  6-inch  wooden  rollers,  and  guided  around  the  curves  by  12-inch 
wooden  sheaves  placed  between  the  rails.  These  sheaves  (Fig.  41}  are  composed 
of  three  IJ-inch  boards,  bolted  together  between  two  iron  flanges,  and  secured  to 
the  ties  by  a  bolt  1 J-  inches  in  diameter,  which  at  the  same  time  serves  as  an 
axle.  The  tail  rope,  after  passing  around  the  return-wheel,  is  led  through  an 
air-course  back  to  the  drum,  and  therefore  is  entirely  out  of  the  way  on  the  main 
road.  In  front  of  the  pit  mouth  the  principal  track  is  joined  by  a  side  track 
leading  to  the  entry  of  another  mine,  in  which  all  hauling  is  done  by  mules. 
They  bring  the  coal  to  this  junction  (Fig.  4%),  from  whence  it  is  conveyed  to  the 
tipple  by  the  wire  rope  system  in  the  following  manner :  An  empty  set,  on  its 
return  trip  to  the  lower  pit,  is  temporarily  switched  on  track  (Z);  the  two  ropes 
are  detached  from  it  and  hitched  to  a  full  set  standing  on  track  (N),  taking  it  to 
the  tipple  and  returning  with  another  empty  train,  leaving  the  latter  on  track 
(M).  Then  the  ropes  are  changed  back  again  to  the  first  train,  standing  on  (L)y 
which  is  hauled  without  further  interruption  to  the  parting  inside  the  pit.  All 
cars  used  in  this  mine  are  provided  with  hand- brakes,  after  the  pattern  shown  in 
Fig.  17,  Plate  6,  on  account  of  the  steep  grades  in  the  entries  and  rooms.  A 
regular  load  consists  of  40  full  cars,  and  occasionally  of  65.  In  the  centre  of 


29 

the  inner  parting  there  is  a  row  of  posts  to  support  the  roof  of  the  pit,  and  in 
consequence  of  these  it  is  necessary  to  change  the  trips  alternately  from  the  left- 
hand  to  the  right-hand  track  of  the  parting.  The  coal  vein  has  an  average 
thickness  of  9  feet,  and  the  daily  output  of  coal  is  1140  tons. 

The  Valley  works  have  a  tail  rope  plane  similar  to  the  preceding  one.  It  is 
4400  feet  long,  and  conveys  per  day  950  tons  of  coal  by  means  of  a  f-inch  mam 
and  a  J-inch  tail  rope.  The  grade  is  undulating,  varying  from  1  to  4  feet  in  100 
against  the  load.  Fig.  ^,  Plate  11,  shows  the  arrangement  for  guiding  the  rope 
into  the  sheaves  at  the  curves.  The  sheave  is  placed  outside  the  track,  a  little 
higher  than  the  coupling-bar ;  an  inclined  piece  of  wood,  2  J  inches  square,  run- 
ning from  the  rail  to  the  flange  of  the  sheave,  prevents  the  rope  from  dropping 
under  the  same  and  guides  it  into  the  groove.  An  ingenious  coupling  (Fig.  44) 
is  used  for  the  attachment  of  the  ropes  to  the  cars,  enabling  the  train-rider  to 
unhitch  the  rope  at  any  time  or  point  without  stopping  or  slacking  the  engine. 
It  consists  of  a  movable  hook  (a),  held  in  position  by  a  ring  (6),  which  is  pre- 
vented from  slipping  out  by  a  prong  (c).  The  latter,  turning  around  the 
pivot  (d),  can  easily  be  lifted  up,  allowing  the  ring  to  slide  back.  This  frees 
the  hook,  which  by  the  pull  of  the  chain  turns  over  and  unhooks  itself. 

At  the  coal  works  of  Joseph  Walton  and  Thos.  Fawcett,  on  the  Monongahela 
river,  are  three  other  examples  of  large  tail  rope  planes.  Each  plane  has  a 
length  of  1J  miles,  and  is  worked  by  a  j-  to  ^f-inch  main,  and  \  to  |-inch  tail 
rope.  In  the  wo  Walton  mines  about  1500  tons,  and  in  the  Fawcett  mine  500 
tons,  are  daily  mined  and  transported  the  above  distance  by  a  tail  rope  system. 
The  general  arrangement  and  method  of  operation  is  the  same  as  described  before 
in  such  examples  as  where  both  rope  drums  were  placed  on  the  same  shaft  at  one 
end  of  the  plane. 

A  tail  rope  system  in  the  mine  of  Hardley  &  Marshall,  in  conjunction  with 
the  engine  plane  described  in  the  former  chapter,  is  especially  notable  for  the 
favorable  conditions  of  the  road,  on  which  any  other  motive  power  for  transport- 
ing coal  could  be  employed  with  advantage.  Nevertheless,  the  preference  was 
given  to  a  wire  rope  system,  which  even  in  this  case  proved  to  be  the  most  con- 
venient and  cheapest  possible  method.  The  road  is  3000  feet  long,  and  has  a 
uniform  grade  of  5  inches  in  100  feet  in  favor  of  the  load.  The  engine  and 
boilers  are  located  in  the  pit,  at  the  foot  of  a  ventilating  shaft,  at  the  junction  of 
the  tail  rope  and  engine  plane  (Fig.  4$,  Plate  11).  Both  main  and  tail  ropes  are 
of  steel,  of  ^-inch  diameter;  the  latter  is  led  from  the  return-wheel  to  the  drum 
through  an  air-course,  which  runs,  at  a  distance  of  24  feet,  parallel  with  the 
main  entry.  The  supporting-rollers  for  the  main  rope,  placed  between  the  rails, 
are  27  feet  apart;  those  for  the  tail  rope  are  supported  from  the  roof  of  the  air- 
course,  and  placed  at  distances  of  90  feet  from  each  other.  The  daily  output  of 
coal  is  950  tons,  and  the  cost  of  transporting  the  same  over  the  whole  distance  of 
7600  feet,  by  wire  rope,  amounts  to  If  cents  per  ton,  which  includes  all  the 
necessary  labor  and  maintenance  of  the  road  and  machinery.  Less  than  one- 
fourth  cent  of  this  sum  must  be  calculated  for  wear  and  tear  of  ropes  and  rollers. 

Two  examples  of  a  combination  of  a  tail  rope  with  an  engine  plane,  worked 


30 

by  one  engine,  are  represented  at  the  Lovedale  works  and  at  the  mine  of  Gum- 
bert  &  Huey,  on  the  Monongahela  river. 

The  two  plants  are  almost  identical,  with  the  exception  that  the  engine  plane 
of  the  first-named  works  has  a  length  of  4374  feet ;  the  latter  of  6000  feet  (Fig. 
46,  Plate  12).  From  the  pit  mouth  (B)  to  the  check-house  (A)  there  is  a  fall  of 
1 J  per  cent.,  but  in  opposite  direction,  to  the  parting  inside  the  mine,  the  road 
descends  at  a  rate  of  7  feet  in  100  feet.  Both  rope  drums  are  on  the  same  shaft, 
driven  by  a  double-acting  engine  with  two  14x24-inch  cylinders,  the  boiler 
carrying  100  pounds  of  steam.  The  tail  rope  runs  from  the  drum  around  a 
return-wheel  placed  under  the  rails  inside  the  pit  about  200  feet  from  the  mouth, 
and  its  end  is  attached  to  the  front  car  of  an  empty  set  standing  at  (A)j  pulling 
the  same  up  the  incline  to  the  entrance  of  the  pit.  While  the  train  runs  past  the 
drum  the  main  rope  is  hitched  to  the  rear  car,  and  when  arriving  at  point  (C")r 
near  the  return-wheel,  the  train-rider  drops  the  tail  rope  and  the  set  descends 
with  the  main  rope  in  tow  to  the  inner  parting  by  force  of  its  gravity.  On  the 
return  trip  of  the  full  set  a  stop  is  made  near  the  return-wheel  to  enable  the 
train-rider  to  hook  the  small  rope  in  the  ring  of  the  growler  (Fig.  27C,  Plate  £), 
and  to  walk  from  the  rear  to  the  front  of  the  train,  taking  his  position  on  the 
first  car.  When  outside  the  pit,  at  point  (jP),  the  engine  rope  is  dropped  and  the 
train  runs  alone  to  its  original  starting  point  at  (A),  where  the  tail  rope  is 
changed  to  another  empty  train  to  repeat  the  same  operation.  A  full  set  consists 
of  36  cars,  and  a  round  trip  occupies  25  to  30  minutes,  making  the  daily  output 
of  coal  in  each  mine  500  to  600  tons. 

We  have  seen  that  in  all  wire  rope  planes,  so  far  described,  the  coal  was  col- 
lected at  one  end  of  the  main  road  and  conveyed  to  the  other  end  without  inter- 
ruption, and  in  most  cases  without  a  stop.  In  the  branches  and  side  entries  the 
coal  was  hauled  by  mules  and  brought  by  them  to  the  general  parting.  There 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  working  one  or  more  branches  also  by  wire  ropes,  and 
it  is  in  common  practice  in  the  collieries 'of  England,  though  it  has  not  yet  been 
attempted  in  this  country.  This  is  the  more  to  be  wondered  at,  as  in  many  cases 
the  side  entries  are  very  long,  and  a  wire  rope  arrangement  for  transporting  coal 
in  them  would  prove  as  advantageous  as  it  is  now  on  the  main  roads.  No  extra 
machinery  is  necessary,  and  with  little  additional  cost  it  is  possible  to  extend  an 
already  existing  tail  rope  system  to  a  number  of  branches.  The  principal  fea- 
tures to  be  considered  for  working  several  planes  with  one  main  and  tail  rope 
are  the  following :  Each  branch  road  is  provided  with  a  separate  rope,  resting  on 
the  usual  supporting-rollers  and  passing  around  a  return-wheel  at  the  end  of  the 
plane,  both  ends  of  the  rope  reaching  to  the  junction  of  the  branch  with  the 
main  road.  The  rope  on  the  main  road  consists  of  as  many  pieces  as  there  are 
branches,  the  connections  being  made  by  sockets  and  shackles,  and  arranged  at 
such  distances  that  when  the  train  is  at  the  outer  end  of  the  plane,  these  coup- 
lings are  in  every  instance  opposite  the  junctions  of  the  branches  with  the  main 
road.  If  a  set  is  intended  to  be  drawn  into  one  of  the  side  entries,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  disconnect  the  main  rope  from  its  upper  part  and  connect  it  with 


31 

the  branch  rope,  so  that  the  latter  forms  a  continuous  line  from  its  return-wheel 
to  the  drum,  while  the  remaining  part  of  the  main  rope,  as  well  as  all  other 
branch  ropes,  lie  idly  on  the  ground.  There  are  three  different  methods  for 
attaching  the  branch  rope  ends  with  the  main  rope,  illustrated  in  Fig.  ^,7-^P. 


rig  48 


49 


In  the  first  two  sketches  the  ropes  are  changed  when  the  set  of  cars  is  near  the 
branch  end,  and  on  the  latter  sketch  when  the  set  is  at  the  outer  end  of  the  plane. 
In  Fig.  47  a  wheel  is  fixed  near  the  roof  or  under  the  rails,  around  which  one 
end  of  the  branch  rope  passes.  When  the  incoming  set  has  to  go  into  this 
branch,  the  rope  end  (C)  replaces  (D)  on  the  fore  end  of  the  set,  and  the  end  (E) 
replaces  (F)  on  the  tail  rope.  In  Fig.  48  the  tail  rope  always  remains  entire  ; 


32 

the  end  (A)  replaces  (B),  and  the  end  (B)  of  the  tail  rope  is  brought  a  little 
further  by  the  engine,  and  is  then  attached  to  (N).  A  different  course  is  pursued 
by  the  method  shown  in  Fig.  Jfi*  Whilst  the  ropes  are  changed  at  the  end  of 
the  plane  from  the  full  to  the  empty  train,  a  boy  at  the  branch  end  simply 
replaces  the  ends  (XX)  by  ( YY),  and  the  train  runs  into  the  branch  without 
stopping.  This  plan  is  more  expeditious  than  either  of  the  others,  since  no  time 
is  lost  by  stopping  at  the  branch  ends,  and  the  ropes  are  changed  while  there  is 
no  strain  on  them.  In  the  first  two  methods,  if  the  road  is  not  level  there  may 
be  a  heavy  strain  in  the  ropes,  according  to  the  dip  of  the  road,  and  it  is  therefore 
a  common  practice  to  hold  the  ends  of  the  main  tail  rope  by  a  wooden  clamp 
(Fig.  50)  fixed  at  the  junction  to  prevent  the  rope  from  rebounding  when  it  is 
released  from  the  strain.  For  uncoupling  the  ropes,  when  under  a  strain,  it  is 
.necessary  to  use  so-called  "knock-off  links,"  of  which  Figs.  51  and  52  represent 
two  kinds  used  in  the  English  collieries.  The  cotter  (C)  in  either  of  these  is 


removed  and  the  link  (L)  is  easily  pushed  off  with  the  foot.  In  some  mines  the 
main  rope  at  the  fore  end  of  an  outgoing  set  is  provided  with  a  self-acting  knock- 
off  link  (Fig.  53).  When  the  car  arrives  at  the  place  where  the  rope  should  be 
taken  off,  a  piece  of  iron  fixed  to  the  roof  of  the  pit  or  to  a  frame  outside  of  it 
comes  in  contact  with  the  arm  (A)  of  the  knock-off  apparatus  and  releases  the 
main  rope,  which  falls  to  one  side. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  it  requires,  altogether,  eight  disconnections  and  connec- 
tions to  run  a  train  from  the  main  road  into  a  branch  or  reverse,  and  twelve 
couplings  and  uncouplings  for  running  a  set  from  one  branch  into  another 


33 


branch,  namely :  four  at  the  outer  end  in  changing  the  ropes  from  the  full  to 
the  empty  set,  four  at  the  junction  of  the  first  branch  to  release  the  branch  rope 
ends  and  restore  the  continuity  of  the  main  rope,  and  four  at  the  second  junction 

A 


Tig   53 


SI 

off  Ii2z&:  ". 


to  intercept  the  main  rope  at  this  place  and  connect  it  with  the  branch  rope.  In 
the  methods  of  Figs.  4?  •>  4.8  the  connections  can  be  made  by  the  train-rider,  but 
in  that  of  Fig.  4$  a  boy  is  needed  at  the  junction  to  make  the  changes 
and  a  train-rider  could  be  dispensed  with,  though  the  latter  is  generally  employed. 

Three  methods  of  taking  the  ropes  around  curves  will  be  seen  in  these 
sketches.  In  Fig.  Jfi  the  curve  has  a  large  radius,  and  the  tail  rope  is  taken 
round  a  single  sheave  and  along  a  narrow  place,  a  pillar  of  coal  supporting  the 
roof  between  it  and  the  curve.  The  curve  of  Fig.  4$  is  of  less  radius,  and  no 
pillar  is  left.  In  Fig.  49  is  shown  the  plan  generally  adopted  on  very  short 
curves ;  instead  of  taking  the  tail  rope  around  a  single  sheave,  both  ropes  are 
taken  around  the  curve  by  a  number  of  smaller  sheaves. 

Frequently  there  are  extra  stations  on  each  side  of  the  main  or  branch  road 
to  be  worked  with  the  same  set  of  ropes.  This  can  be  done  in  different  ways. 
If,  for  instance  a  train  of  cars  is  intended  for  the  station  (Fig.  54],  ifc  is  taken  to 
(L  L),  and  there  the  ropes  are  knocked  off;  the  full  set  stands  at  (M  If),  and  in 
order  to  get  the  rope  ends  to  this  point  a  piece  of  rope  the  length  of  the  train  is 
attached  to  the  two  ends,  which  are  then  pulled  by  the  engine  opposite  the  ends 
of  the  full  set.  Thus  eight  connections  and  disconnections  are  necessary  for  each 
set  led  from  the  station. 

A  better  arrangement  is  shown  in  Fig.  55.  The  ropes  are  knocked  off  while 
the  empty  set  is  going  in  at  the  points  (A  -4),  opposite  to  which  the  full  set 
stands  ready  to  go  out.  A  gentle  fall  in  the  track  causes  the  empty  cars  to  run 
forward,  and  by  the  switch  (8)  they  are  turned  into  the  siding  (B  JS). 

Fig.  56  shows  still  another  arrangement.  The  middle  track  is  the  main  road 
and  the  empty  cars  are  going  into  the  siding  (XX)  and  afterwards  are  brought 
around  the  curve  (^4.),  which  consists  of  movable  rails.  When  the  full  set  which 
stands  at  (Y  Y)  is  taken  out,  the  rails  are  removed.  With  this  arrangement  the 


34 

drivers  have  to  cross  the  main  road  every  time  they  take  the  empty  cars  in  the 
station,  which  is  avoided  in  the  foregoing  plan. 


o 


xYV 


Fig. 56 

^>^>^^y^/^^^^ 

X  JC 


^j 


An  example  of  an  extensive  tail  rope  system,  working  a  number  of  branches,, 
is  shown  in  Fig.  57,  Plate  13 — the  plan  of  the  North  Hetton  colliery  in  England- 
It  consists  of  two  separate  tail  rope  planes,  each  worked  by  a  J-inch  rope,  and 
drums  of  four  feet  diameter.  Plane  No.  1  has  a  main  road,  with  two  branches 
on  each  side  and  a  cross-cut  way  at  the  end  of  it.  These  five  branches  are 
worked  by  the  drums  marked  No.  1,  while  the  No.  2  drums  work  the  second 
plane,  with  its  branches.  The  ropes  are  shown  in  dotted  lines.  In  the  second 
west  way  and  the  cross-cut  way  there  are  two  stations ;  the  first  is  worked  as 
described  in  Fig.  54>  ^e  second  according  to  the  arrangement  shown  in  Fig.  55.. 
The  four  curves  leading  from  the  main  road  to  the  branches  each  have  a  radius 
of  66  feet,  while  the  radius  of  the  curve  in  the  first  south  way  is  264  feet  and 
of  that  in  the  cross-cut  way  330  feet.  No.  2  plane  has  one  main  road  and  three 
branches — two  to  the  west  and  the  other  in  a  cross-cut  direction.  The  curves  to 


35 


the  branches  have  a  radius  of  198  feet,  and  the  curve  upon  the  main  road  264 
feet.  At  the  far  end  of  each  of  the  branches  there  is  a  siding,  one  way  for  the 
full  cars,  the  other  for  the  empty  cars.  At  the  inner  end  of  the  first  west  way 
there  are  two  "  putting"  stations,  from  which  the  cars  are  led  in  short  sets  by 
ponies  to  the  siding  at  the  end  of  the  engine  plane.  The  full  way  of  the  shaft 
siding  is  raised  several  feet  to  form  an  artificial  incline  called  the  "kep"  in  the 
English  mines,  and  in  this  country  known  as  a  "  knuckle."  When  the  full  cars 
have  been  drawn  on  this  "  kep,"  the  cars  are  let  down  to  the  shaft  as  required. 

One  end  of  the  axle  of  each  set  of  drums  is  placed  on  a  movable  carriage,  by 
means  of  which  they  are  put  into  gear  with  the  driving  pinion.  The  drums  are 
connected  to  the  shaft  by  means  of  a  clutch-gear.  The  engine  and  the  drums 
are  placed  beneath  the  wagon  way,  and  the  wheels  (IF  and  TFi),  which  direct  the 
course  of  the  ropes  for  No.  2  plane,  as  well  as  several  other  4-foot  wheels  upon 
these  planes,  are  also  placed  under  the  track.  The  ropes  for  No.  2  plane  come 
to  the  surface  about  at  the  point  (P). 

At  the  points  (A)  and  (B)  there  are  shackle-joints  on  both  the  main  and  tail 
ropes.  They  consist  of  a  goose-neck  socket,  with  a  ring  and  clevis,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  <r>8.  When  the  rope  ends,  to  which  the  set  is  attached,  are  at  the  shaft,. 


58    r 


iti.  wain, 

Colh'ery* 

these  joints  are  always  at  the  points  (A)  and  (-B),  no  matter  from  which  way  the 
last  set  came.  At  (C)  and  (Q)  the  ropes  are  taken  around  the  curves  by  small 
sheaves  of  lOJ-inch  diameter,  as  shown  in  Fig.  59  ;  but  at  most  of  the  curves. 


o 
-LIZ,- 


Helton.  Colliery 


36 

only  one  rope  follows  the  same,  while  the  tail  rope  passes  around  a  single  4-foot 
sheave.  This  arrangement  is  to  be  preferred.  The  "  tail  sheaves  "  are  all  placed 
under  the  wagonway,  and  wherever  the  ropes  have  to  cross  the  track  they  are 
arranged  to  pass  under  the  rails.  The  total  length  of  the  main  rope  is  7560  feet, 
and  of  the  tail  rope  28,908  feet,  and  there  are  altogether  1390  small  sheaves  and 
14  4  foot  wheels  upon  the  planes. 

Method  of  Working  the  Planes. — On  referring  to  the  plan  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
No.  1  plane  the  ropes  connected  with  the  engine  are  those  of  the  cross-cut  way, 
and  that  the  ends  of  all  the  other  branch  ropes  are  lying  at  the  branch  ends.  It 
is  supposed  that  a  full  set  has  just  arrived  at  the  shaft,  and  that  the  next  empty 
set  has  to  go  into  the  second  south  way ;  while  the  rope  ends  at  the  shaft  are 
disconnected  from  the  full  and  attached  to  the  empty  set,  the  boy  attending  the 
switches  at  (B)  is  disconnecting  the  shackles  (S  S)  and  connecting  them  to  ( T  T) ; 
this  is  done  in  about  two  minutes,  and  is  generally  finished  before  the  set  at  the 
shaft  is  ready  to  come  away ;  the  boy  then  opens  the  switches  for  the  second 
south  way,  and  everything  is  ready  for  the  set  to  go  in.  The  empty  cars  are 
taken  into  the  branch  and  the  full  train  returns  to  the  shaft  before  the  ropes 
are  altered  again.  Should  the  first  north  way  next  be  ready,  the  ends  (E  E)  are 
replaced  by  (F  F),  the  switches  are  placed  right,  and  the  empty  set  goes  in  and 
the  full  set  comes  out.  If  the  cross-cut  way  be  next  ready,  it  will  be  seen  that 
to  put  the  ropes  right  for  this  branch  four  rope  ends  will  have  to  be  connected, 
two  at  station  (A)  and  two  at  (jB). 

On  Plane  No.  2  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  ropes  connected  with  the  engine  are 
those  of  the  third  west  way,  and  here  also  the  set  is  supposed  to  be  at  the  shaft. 
All  branches  on  Plane  No.  1  are  dipping  inward,  while  those  of  Plane  No.  2  dip 
towards  the  shaft.  The  branch  ropes  on  Plane  No.  2  are  connected  in  the  same 
way  as  on  Plane  No.  1,  and  here  also  it  is  necessary  to  connect  four  rope  ends 
when  the  third  west  way  has  to  be  worked,  if  the  second  and  the  first  west  way 
have  been  worked  before  it.  In  the  first  west  way  the  grade  is  found  heavy 
enough  to  cause  the  outcomiug  full  cars  to  pull  the  tail  rope  after  them ;  in 
taking  the  empty  set  inward,  the  main  rope  is  knocked  off  at  the  point  (jR)  and 
the  train  is  pulled  in  by  the  tail  rope;  the  full  set  is  afterwards  let  down  the 
incline  by  the  single  tail  rope  to  (R),  where  the  main  rope,  which  is  necessary  to 
pull  the  set  on  the  knuckle,  is  attached.  The  drum  man  sometimes  brings  the 
train  out  of  this  branch  by  the  brake,  while  the  engine  is  working  another  way. 

The  ropes  are  attached  to  the  cars  by  a  knock-off  link,  as  shown  in  Fig.  51. 
A  set  consists  of  22  to  35  cars,  and  moves  with  a  speed  of  ten  miles  per  hour  on 
an  undulating  grade  of  which  the  heaviest,  dipping  outward,  is  6J  feet  in  100  feet. 
The  average  duration  of  the  ropes  is  three  years. 


37 


IV.  THE  ENDLESS  ROPE  SYSTEM. 

The  principal  features  of  this  system  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  rope,  as  the  name  indicates,  is  endless. 

2.  Motion  is  given  to  the  rope  by  a  single  wheel  or  drum,  and  friction  is 
obtained  either  by  a  grip-wheel  or  by  passing  the  rope  several  times  around  the 
wheel. 

3.  The  rope  must  be  kept  constantly  tight,  the  tension  to  be  produced  by 
artificial  means.     It  is  done  in  placing  either  the  return-wheel  or  an  extra  tension 
wheel  on  a  carriage  and  connecting  it  with  a  weight  hanging  over  a  pulley,  or 
attaching  it  to  a  fixed  post  by  a  screw  which  occasionally  can  be  shortened. 

4.  The  cars  are  attached  to  the  rope  by  a  grip  or  clutch,  which  can  take  hold 
at  any  place  and  let  go  again,  starting  and  stopping  the  train  at  will,  without 
stopping  the  engine  or  the  motion  of  the  rope. 

5.  On  a  single-track  road  the  rope  works  forward  and  backward,  but  on  a 
double  track  it  is  possible  to  run  it  always  in  the  same  direction,  the  full  cars 
going  on  one  track  and  the  empty  cars  on  the  other. 

There  are  several  mines  in  the  Monongahela  and  Ohio  valleys,  and  one  in  the 
Pennsylvania  anthracite  region,  which  have  adopted  this  method  of  conveying 
coal,  but  as  a  rule  it  has  not  found  as  general  an  introduction  as  the  tail  rope 
system,  probably  because  its  efficacy  is  not  so  apparent  and  the  opposing  difficul- 
ties require  greater  mechanical  skill  and  more  complicated  appliances.  The 
advantages  of  this  system  are,  first,  that  it  requires  one-third  less  rope  than  the 
tail-rope  system.  This  advantage,  however,  is  partially  counterbalanced  by 
the  circumstance  that  the  extra  tension  in  the  rope  requires  a  heavier  size  to 
move  the  same  load  than  when  a  main  and  tail  rope  are  used.  The  second  and 
principal  advantage  is  that  it  is  possible  to  start  and  stop  trains  at  will  without 
signaling  to  the  engineer.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  more  difficult  to  work  curves 
with  the  endless  system,  and  still  more  so  to  work  different  branches,  and  the 
constant  stretcli  of  the  rope  under  tension  or  its  elongation  under  changes  of 
temperature  frequently  causes  the  rope  to  slip  on  the  wheel,  in  spite  of  every 
atlention,  causing  delay  in  the  transportation  and  injury  to  the  rope.  The  pulling 
rope  runs  in  the  centre  of  the  track,  supported  by  wooden  rollers,  while  the  loose  or 
pulled  rope  generally  runs  on  the  side  of  the  road,  supported  by  rollers  either  on 
the  ground  or  sometimes  overhead,  similar  to  the  tail  rope.  As  the  strain  in  the 
latter  is  considerably  smaller  than  it  is  in  the  pulling  rope,  it  may,  like  a  tail 
rope,  consist  of  a  smaller  size  in  cases  where  the  rope  works  backward  and 
forward.  On  a  double  track,  however,  where  the  load  changes  from  one  to  the 
other,  it  must  be  of  one  size  throughout. 

As  an  example  of  this  we  mention,  first,  one  at  the  State  Line  mine  (Fig.  60, 
Plate  14).  The  plane  is  1J  miles  long,  with  several  slight  curves  and  an  undu- 
lating grade  varying  from  level  to  4  per  cent,  inclination.  It  is  worked  by  a 
f-inch  steel  rope,  made  of  four  strands,  with  seven  wires  in  each,  and  laid  up  in 
a  very  long  twist.  The  pulling  rope  is  supported  every  12  feet  on  6-inch 


38 

wooden  rollers,  15  inches  long,  with  1-inch  iron  axles  resting  on  wooden  bearings. 
The  rollers  for  the  loose  rope  have  the  same  diameter,  but  only  a  length  of 
eleven  inches.  They  must  be  renewed,  on  an  average,  every  twelve  months, 
some  wearing  out  in  half  a  year,  others  lasting  eighteen  months  or  longer.  For 
guiding  the  rope  around  the  curves,  smooth-faced  iron  rollers  of  12-inch  diame- 
ter, as  shown  in  Fig.  62,  are  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  track  at  distances  of  six 
to  ten  feet,  according  to  the  radius  of  the  curve.  At  point  (A)  the  ropes  make  a 
sharp  bend  sideways  as  well  as  downward  towards  the  driving-wheel,  the  loose 
rope  being  led  around  an  ordinary  roller  as  just  described,  the  pulling  rope 
around  a  3-foot  rubber-lined  pulley. 

The  driving  machinery  (Fig.  61)  consists  of  a  double-acting  engine  with 
12-inch  cylinders  by  24-inch  stroke,  a  24-inch  pinion  with  8-inch  face,  working 
a  6-foot  spur-wheel,  which  is  on  the  same  shaft  with  the  driving-pulley.  The 
latter  is  a  double-grooved,  rubber-lined  wheel,  6  feet  2  inches  in  diameter,  around 
which  the  rope  is  wound  with  two  half-turns  for  obtaining  friction.  The 
return-wheel  is  placed  under  the  rails  in  front  of  the  parting  inside  the  pit.  It 
consists  of  a  6-foot  rubber-lined  sheave,  with  a  3- inch  axle.  Before  passing  out 
on  the  road  the  rope  is  led  from  the  driving-wheel  around  a  single-grooved 
tightening  pulley  of  6-foot  diameter,  which,  resting  on  a  sliding  frame,  can  be 
moved  backward  or  forward  by  means  of  a  2-inch  set-screw  that  bears  against 
the  timber  frame  of  the  building.  This  arrangement  works  well,  except  that  in 
wet  weather  the  rope  slips  sometimes  when  the  engine  is  started  too  suddenly. 

Referring  to  Fig.  60,  the  method  of  operation  is  the  following :  The  empty 
cars  return  from  the  tipple  on  track  (L\  which  has  a  knuckle  and  down  grade 
towards  (A),  where  the  trains  are  arranged.  A  set  consists  of  from  24  to  60 
cars;  the  front  car  is  hitched  to  the  splicing-link  of  the  rope  with  an  ordinary 
chain,  20  feet  long,  having  a  hook  at  one  end  and  a  clevis  at  the  other.  The 
former  takes  hold  of  the  splic'mg-chain,  while  the  latter  is  attached  to  the  pulling- 
bar  of  the  car  by  a  very  tapering  pin,  which  is  secured  to  the  side  of  the  car  by 
a  little  chain.  This  method  of  attachment  is  the  reason  for  making  the  splice  of 
the  endless  rope  in  an  unusual  manner.  Instead  of  a  regular  rope  splice,  a  piece 
of  chain,  about  15  feet  long,  connected  to  the  two  rope  ends  by  clevis  and  pins, 
is  used.  The  chain  has  two  swivels,  to  allow  the  rope  to  turn,  and  the  ends  of 
the  rope  are  provided  with  very  slender  sockets,  4  inches  long,  which  are  fastened 
by  turning  the  wire  ends  over  and  pouring  lead  in  all  crevices  (Fig.  63*). 

There  are  a  few  other  splices  in  this  rope,  as  shown  in  Fig.  63b,  which  were  put 
in  because  of  occasional  breakages. 

The  principal  splice  never  goes  around  the  end  sheaves,  and  moves  only 
between  (A)  and  (B),  the  points  where  the  empty  and  full  sets  are  attached. 

Each  trip  is  accompanied  by  a  train-rider  on  the  front  car.  When  going 
inward  he  pulls  the  coupling-pin  at  point  (B)  and  the  set  runs  by  its  own 
momentum  into  track  (M)  of  the  parting,  while  the  man  jumps  down  and 
reviews  the  passing  cars.  After  the  last  car,  called  the  caboose  (which  is  a 
special  car  provided  with  a  brake),  arrives  at  the  switch,  it  is  a  sign  that  every- 
thing is  all  right  and  that  no  car  has  been  lost.  The  caboose  is  now  attached  tp 


39 

the  full  set  standing  on  track  (§),  the  other  end  hitched  to  the  rope,  and  the 
signal  given  to  the  engineer  to  start  the  rope.  On  the  outward  trip  the  train- 
man takes  position  on  the  caboose,  and  when  arriving  at  point  (A)  he  detaches 
the  coupling-chain  and  the  train  descends  on  track  (R)  alone  to  the  tipple.  The 
cars  of  this  mine  have  different  proportions  from  those  hitherto  described,  and 
for  emptying  the  coal  are  provided  with  doors  moving  on  side  hinges  (Fig.  64). 
Each  car  contains  2400  pounds  of  coal,  and  the  daily  output  is  from  750  to  800 
tons.  The  average  running  speed  is  ten  miles  an  hour. 

It  will  be  noticed  from  the  above  description  that  the  operation  in  this  mine 
does  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  a  tail  rope  plane.  A  full  set  of  cars  is 
arranged  beyond  the  return-wheel,  at  the  parting,  and  no  stops  are  made  between 
the  two  termini.  A  tail  rope  system,  with  a  rope  spliced  endless  if  preferred  to 
loose  ends,  similar  to  the  Gray  &  Bell  mine,  would  therefore  answer  equally  well 
for  the  conditions  of  this  mine,  the  only  advantage  derived  from  the  friction 
system  consisting  in  a  saving  of  one-third  the  length  of  the  rope. 

The  Imperial  coal  mine  is  a  second  example  where  the  endless  rope  system  has 
been  successfully  applied.  Here  the  conditions  are  different.  The  train  is  not 
arranged  at  one  certain  point,  but  the  single  cars  are  collected  from  different 
stations  along  the  main  road,  so  that  only  after  having  passed  the  last  cross-pit 
will  the. train  have  its  full  complement  of  cars.  With  no  other  system  could 
this  mode  of  operation  be  carried  on  as  conveniently  as  with  the  endless  rope. 
Fig.  65,  Plate  15,  represents  the  general  arrangement  in  ground  plan  and  eleva- 
tion. From  the  pit  mouths  to  the  return-wheel  the  plane,  which  consists  of  a 
double  road  in  two  separate  entries,  has  a  length  of  3500  feet,  and  the  whole 
rope  is  8750  feet  long.  It  is  a  |-inch  steel  rope,  with  seven  wires  to  the  strand, 
spliced  endless  by  a  regular  rope  splice  of  30-foot  length.  Contrary,  however, 
to  the  usual  way  of  removing  the  hemp  centre  and  putting  the  strand  ends  in  its 
place,  the  latter  are  tucked  under  the  other  strands.  This  was  considered  an 
improvement,  because,  owing  to  the  long  twist  with  which  the  rope  was  manu- 
factured, the  strand  ends  had  pulled  out.  Motion  is  given  to  the  rope  by  a  wooden 
drum  of  5-foot  diameter,  around  which  it  is  wound  with  three  half-turns.  From 
this  it  is  led  around  a  double- grooved  tightening  pulley,  which  rests  on  a  car- 
riage fastened  by  a  screw  to  a  fixed  post,  and  which  serves  as  the  means  to  keep 
the  rope  at  a  uniform  tension  (Fig.  66). 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  sketch,  the  ropes  running  from  one  sheave  to  the  other 
cross  each  other  so  as  to  get  the  largest  possible  bearing  surface  between  the 
driving-wheel  and  the  rope. 

The  question  of  gripping  the  rope  and  starting  and  stopping  at  will  while  the 
rope  is  moving  has  been  solved  in  an  ingenious  manner  by  means  of  a  special 
grip-car  called  the  "dilly,"  invented  and  patented  by  the  Imperial  Coal  Co. 
(Fig.  67,  Plate  16).  It  consists  of  a  carriage  with  two  heavy  longitudinal  timbers 
which  support  the  bearings  of  two  rubber-lined  sheaves  of  4-foot  diameter.  The 
rope,  passing  with  one  half-turn  around  each  of  these  wheels,  causes  them  to 
revolve,  while  the  carriage  is  stationary,  but  in  pressing  on  the  lever  (L)  their 
revolution  is  stopped  by  the  brake-bands  and  the  whole  car  moves  along  with 


40 

the  velocity  of  the  rope.  It  is  therefore  in  the  power  of  the  dilly-rider  to  start 
and  stop  at  any  place,  and  to  do  so  without  a  shock,  if  he  presses  on  the  lever  or 
relieves  it  gradually.  The  two  wheels  are  placed  in  the  bearings  with  a  slight 
inclination,  to  allow  the  two  parts  of  the  rope  to  pass  each  other.  Two 
other  levers,  ($)  and  (P),  will  be  noticed  on  the  sketch ;  the  first  serves  to  draw 
the  coupling-pin,  the  second  to  put  a  brake  on  the  carriage- wheels  for  stopping 
the  "dilly"  more  readily  when  its  own  momentum  would  still  keep  it  in  motion. 

From  the  driving-drum  to  within  70  feet  of  the  pit  mouth  the  rope  is  sup- 
ported by  10-inch  rollers,  on  wooden  frames,  but  inside  the  pits  it  rests  on  6-inch 
rollers,  placed  at  distances  of  20  feet.  The  driving  engine  is  double-acting,  with 
12x24-inch  cylinders,  and  a  gearing  of  three  to  one.  On  the  same  shaft  with 
the  driving  drum  of  the  endless  rope  there  is  another  drum  of  the  same  diame- 
ter, which  works  a  separate  engine  plane  with  a  1-inch  rope  for  hauling  the 
railroad  cars  under  the  tipple,  as  described  in  a  former  chapter  and  illustrated  in 
Fig.  25. 

Referring  to  Fig.  65  it  will  be  noticed  that  about  300  feet  from  the  pit  mouth 
the  two  main  entries,  which  are  30  feet  apart,  are  connected  by  a  common  central 
entry,  through  which  all  loaded  trains  are  taken  to  the  check-house  at  (a),  while 
the  empty  sets  return  in  a  straight  line  on  tracks  (6).  When  an  outcoming  train 
approaches  the  switch  (  PF),  the  dilly-rider  slackens  the  speed,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
draw  the  coupling- pin  and  detach  the  dilly  from  the  cars.  A  boy,  accompanying 
each  train,  jumps  down  and  sets  the  switch  at  (W).  The  cars  run  alone  into  the 
middle  entry  on  a  down  grade  of  two  per  cent.,  while  the  dilly  goes  in  a  straight 
line  as  far  as  (A)  or  (5).  Outside  the  pit  the  middle  track  has  a  slight  rise 
towards  the  head  of  the  self-acting  incline,  to  check  the  acquired  speed  of  the 
cars  and  to  carry  them  not  farther  than  convenient  for  letting  them  down  the 
incline  in  sets  of  three.  At  point  (a)  the  three  tracks  are  on  the  same  level,  but 
the  two  outside  tracks  rise  from  here  towards  the  pit  mouth  so  that  point  (c)  is 
about  seven  feet  lower  than  points  (6).  At  ( W)  the  three  tracks  join  again  in 
the  same  level.  The  empty  cars  coming  up  the  gravity  incline  are  coupled 
together  in  sets  of  40  on  track  (6),  and  after  the  dilly  has  been  attached  the 
signal  is  given  to  the  engineer  to  reverse  the  engine,  this  at  the  same  time  being 
the  signal  to  the  dilly-rider  at  the  parting  (L)  to  get  ready  for  going  out. 
Suppose  three  cars  were  to  be  left  at  cross-entry  No.  2,  the  train-boy  would  ride 
in  the  car  ahead  of  the  three  and  would  cast  them  off  when  approaching  the 
siding,  the  dilly-rider  slackening  the  speed  a  little  for  this  purpose.  For  enter- 
ing the  side  entry  the  cars  necessarily  must  pass  over  the  rope.  The  latter, 
therefore,  as  shown  in  Fig.  68,  is  sunk  into  a  groove  and  by  four  wooden  guid- 
ing blocks  prevented  from  leaving  the  same,  while  the  rails  are  raised  above  the 
ordinary  level  to  avoid  all  danger  of  cutting  the  rope  with  the  flanges  of  the 
wheels.  After  the  train  has  passed  the  switch  the  train-boy  closes  the  tongue 
(T)  and  the  three  detached  cars  run  alone  into  the  side  entry,  the  whole  opera- 
tion being  done  without  stopping.  At  every  cross-entry  where  cars  are  to  be  left 
the  same  manipulation  is  repeated. 

The  outward  trip  is  conducted  in  the  following  manner :  Starting  with  a  few 


41 

cars  from  the  parting  (L),  the  dilly  stops  at  the  first  cross-entry  and  the  train- 
boy  attaches  a  chain  about  15  feet  long  to  the  full  cars  standing  on  a  side  track, 
which  are  drawn  by  the  grip-car  on  the  main  road.  By  slacking  the  speed  these 
cars  catch  up  with  the  train  and  are  attached  with  the  regular  coupling  by  the 
train-boy,  who  then  takes  the  chain  and  jumps  in  the  last  car  to  repeat  the  same 
operation  at  the  other  side  entries. 

The  switch  tongue  (T)  is  self-acting  for  all  outgoing  cars  :  if  shut  the  dilly 
will  open  it,  and  if  open  the  cars  from  the  side  tracks  will  close  it.  On  the 
inward  trip,  however,  the  dilly-rider  can  open  the  tongue  by  means  of  a  long 
switch-rod  before  the  dilly  reaches  there. 

The  regular  running  speed  is  about  six  miles  per  hour,  and  the  daily  output 
of  coal  amounts  from  1200  to  1400  tons. 

The  endless  rope  system  of  the  Buck  Mountain  anthracite  mine  is  illustrated 
in  Fig.  69,  Plate  17.  The  driving  engine  is  situated  in  the  pit,  about  140  feet 
from  the  foot  of  a  slope  of  30  degrers  inclination,  which  is  worked  by  a  separate 
rope  and  engine.  The  length  of  the  plane  from  drum  to  return-wheel  is  2840 
feet;  it  is  nearly  level,  falling,  in  the  whole  distance,  only  three  feet,  but  has 
several  curves,  the  smallest  having  a  radius  of  67  feet.  The  working  rope  is  of 
steel,  of  1-inch  diameter,  and  lasts  about  12  or  13  months.  It  is  driven  by  a 
single-acting  engine,  with  a  14-inch  cylinder  by  48-inch  stroke.  Friction 
between  the  driving-drum  and  the  rope  is  obtained  by  giving  the  latter  six 
half-turns  around  this  and  another  grooved  drum  of  7-foot  diameter.  Tension 
is  given  to  the  rope  in  two  ways :  first,  the  return-wheel,  a  6-foot  rubber-lined 
sheave,  is  placed  on  a  sliding  frame  attached  to  a  fixed  post  by  a  chain,  which 
may  be  shortened  to  take  up  the  slack  of  the  rope  (Fig.  70).  A  second  method, 
shown  in  Fig.  71,  is  self-acting.  It  consists  of  two  fixed  and  one  movable 
sheave,  the  "  loose "  rope  passing  under  the  former  and  over  the  latter.  This 
rests  in  a  frame  which  slides  between  two  upright  posts  and  is  connected  by  a 
light  rope  with  a  counter-weight  that  keeps  the  rope  constantly  in  equal  tension. 
Though  effective  in  its  results,  this  method  is  not  desirable,  because  the  sharp 
bend  around  the  small  sheaves  is  very  injurious  to  the  rope. 

The  clutch  with  which  the  cars  are  attached  to  the  rope  is  shown  in  Fig.  72. 
Two  hinged  pieces  of  iron,  after  being  hooked  into  the  eye  of  the  pulling-bar, 
are  kept  closed  by  a  ring  (R)  and  a  cotter  (q).  These  can  be  knocked  off  while 
there  is  tension  in  the  rope,  and  the  clutch  will  then  unhook  itself,  but  the  rope 
must  be  stopped  for  attaching  as  well  as  for  detaching.  At  the  upper  end  of 
the  clutch  there  is  a  cross-piece  of  wood,  which  rests  on  the  bumpers  of  the  car, 
while  with  the  lower  end  it  is  fastened  by  a  clevis  to  a  ring  (s),  which  moves 
freely  on  the  link  of  the  rope  splice. 

In  looking  at  the  plan  (Fig.  69)  it  will  be  noticed  that  1800  feet  from  the 
parting  a  sloped  road  crosses  the  main  road,  led  under  the  same,  on  which  by  a 
separate  rope  and  engine  at  the  head  of  the  slope  the  coal  from  another  gangway 
is  taken  to  point  (P)  and  afterwards  lowered  to  (A)  to  join  the  train  on  the  main 
track. 

The  mode  of  operation  is  therefore  as  follows :  Starting  from  the  parting  (L) 


42 

with  eight  or  ten  cars,  a  stop  is  made  at  point  (.4)  by  a  bell  signal  to  the 
engineer,  and  four  or  five  cars,  which  were  let  down  from  (P)  by  a  brake,  are 
attached.  When  the  train  arrives  at  ( T)  the  engine  stops.  The  full  cars  are 
taken  by  mules  on  track  (§)  to  the  foot  of  the  slope,  while  the  empty  cars  com- 
ing from  the  same  run  on  a  down  grade,  on  track  (R],  to  point  ( T),  where  the 
ingoing  set  is  arranged.  The  cars  for  the  lower  gangway  are  taken  from  (A)  to 
(P)  by  the  same  rope  which  works  the  slope,  while  the  remaining  cars  go  to  the 
parting  (L).  A  train  consists  of  13  to  22  cars,  each  of  them  containing  4200 
pounds  of  coal.  The  average  time  for  a  round  trip  is  from  15  to  18  minutes. 
The  ropes  are  supported  on  rollers  placed  at  distances  varying  from  6  to  100  feet. 
Exclusive  of  wear  and  tear  of  the  rope,  the  total  cost  of  transporting  the  coal 
about  3000  feet  is  estimated  at  one  and  a  half  cents  per  ton. 

In  England  the  endless  rope  system  has  found  considerable  favor,  and  is  in 
use  at  the  Shire  Oaks  and  Cinderhill  collieries  in  Nottinghamshire,  the  Newsham 
colliery  in  Northumberland,  and  the  Eston  mines  in  Yorkshire.  The  methods 


73 


Kg.  7  4- 

^J^/^^/>X^X^^X^^/X^ 


applied  for  tightening  the  rope  in  these  collieries  consist  generally  in  placing 
either  the  return-wheel  or  the  tightening  pulley  on  a  carriage  to  which  a  hanging 
weight  is  attached  (Figs.  73,  74). 


-  /S 


43 

Friction  for  driving  the  rope  is  frequently  supplied  by  a  grip- wheel,  as  was 
illustrated  in  Fig.  6,  p.  8.  The  clamps  or  grips  for  attaching  the  cars  to  the 
rope,  used  at  Shire  Oaks  and  Cinderhill  mine,  are  of  the  pattern  shown  in  Figs. 
75,  76,  Plate  18.  They  are  applied  while  the  rope  is  in  motion — in  the  first- 
named  mine  by  a  boy  riding  in  the  front  car,  and  in  the  latter  mine  by  a  man 
traveling  on  foot  alongside  the  train,  which  moves  only  at  a  rate  of  2J  miles  per 
hour.  It  has  been  found  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  passing  these  clamps 
around  the  curves. 

The  plan  and  rope  arrangement  of  the  Eston  mine,  in  Yorkshire,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  77,  Plate  19.  It  is  distinguished  from  other  endless  rope  systems  in  that 
three  branches  and  one  main  road  are  worked  by  one  rope. 

From  the  bottom  of  three  self-acting  inclines  run  three  branches,  joining  at 
one  point  a  fourth  branch  which  leads  to  the  top  of  an  incline.  The  endless 
rope  is  used  to  convey  the  full  cars  from  the  three  sidings  to  the  main  road,  and 
to  bring  empty  cars  back  again.  The  rope,  shown  in  the  plan  by  a  dotted  line, 
is  one  inch  in  diameter,  and  kept  tight  by  a  hanging  weight  attached  to  sheave 
(8),  which  is  placed  on  a  tram.  At  the  points  (A),  (B),  (<?)  there  are  links  or 
sockets  in  the  rope,  by  means  of  which  the  connection  between  the  rope  and  the 
sets  of  full  and  empty  cars  is  made.  Each  of  the  links  has  a  certain  position,  to 
which  it  is  always  brought  by  the  engine  after  having  been  used  in  moving  a  set 
of  cars.  The  link  (A)  is  used  for  drawing  the  empty  cars  to  the  siding  of  No.  1 
incline  and  the  full  cars  from  both  No.  1  and  No.  2  siding  to  the  main  road 
(X  Y).  The  link  (B)  draws  the  empty  wagons  to  No.  2  siding,  and  the  link 
(C)  to  No.  3  incline.  When  an  empty  set  is  required  for  No.  2  incline,  the  link 
(A)  brings  the  set  to  the  points  at  (P),  from  where  it  is  conveyed  by  the 
link  (B).  The  set  consists  of  twenty  cars.  Suppose  a  set  of  empty  cars  had  to 
be  taken  to  the  siding  of  No.  1  incline:  By  means  of  a  short  2-inch  steel  chain, 
with  a  hook  at  each  end,  the  set  is  attached  to  the  rope  and  drawn  upon  the 
siding  to  point  (T),  where  the  rope  is  disconnected.  Should  a  full  set  be  ready 
for  removal  to  (X  Y),  the  rope  is  attached  and  it  is  brought  back  again  to  its 
original  position.  If  no  wagons  are  ready,  the  engine  draws  the  rope  back 
empty.  The  rope  is  also  frequently  used  in  bringing  the  full  cars  on  the  sidings 
when  they  fail  to  run  far  .enough  on  the  self-acting  inclines. 

A  certain  method  of  the  endless  rope  system,  employed  in  England  in  cases  of 
a  double  track,  is  well  worthy  of  consideration.  It  is  in  use  at  the  Bridge, 
Meadow,  Moor  and  Scotlane  pits  and  the  Mesnes  colliery,  and  has  several  advan- 
tages. The  rope,  in  place  of  being  supported  near  the  ground  on  rollers,  rests 
on  top  of  the  cars,  saving  the  expense  of  rollers  and  avoiding  the  friction  on  the 
rope.  The  cars  are  attached  singly  or  in  sets  of  two  to  twelve  at  regular  dis- 
tances, the  former  method  being  preferable  because  it  gives  more  frequent  support 
to  the  rope.  Motion  is  given  to  the  rope  in  the  usual  way  by  driving-wheels, 
around  which  several  turns  are  taken  to  secure  friction.  The  motion  is  slow, 
only  from  0.8  to  1.2  miles  per  hour,  but  as  the  service  is  continuous  it  is  possible, 
even  at  this  slow  speed,  to  convey  more  coal  to  the  shaft  than  the  latter  generally 
can  accommodate.  Curves  and  branches  can  also  be  worked  by  this  system. 


44 


Fig.  78 j  Plate  20,  represents  the  plan  of  the  Bridge  pit,  near  Wigan.  All 
planes  are  laid  with  a  double  track — one  for  the  ingoing  empty  cars,  the  other 
for  the  outgoing  full  cars.  The  general  width  of  the  pits  is  10  feet  4  inches, 
and  all  roads  rise  towards  the  shaft  at  a  rate  varying  from  one  foot  in  eighteen 
feet  to  one  foot  in  sixty-two  feet,  with  exception  of  the  slant-way,  which  falls 
towards  the  shaft  with  a  decline  of  one  foot  in  forty-seven  feet.  The  total  length 
of  the  main  driving-rope,  which  is  of  steel  of  IJ-inch  diameter,  is  2361  feet.  It 
passes  two  and  a  half  times  around  the  driving-wheel,  which  has  a  diameter  of 
14  feet,  and  the  outgoing  rope  goes  past  the  shaft  to  the  tightening-pulley  (A). 
This  pulley,  of  9 -foot  diameter,  is  placed  on  a  strong  tram  and  the  rope  is 
tightened  by  means  of  a  screw  attached  to  the  carriage,  the  other  end  being 
secured  to  a  piece  of  fixed  timber.  There  are  two  sets  of  pulleys  near  the  shaft ; 
one  (B)  for  working  the  main  way  and  the  slant  way  connected  with  it,  and 
another  (C)  for  working  the  chain  brow  way.  The  driving-rope,  in  coming 
from  the  tightening-pulley,  passes  once  around  the  pulley  (C)  and  twice  around 
(JB),  there  being  a  much  greater  load  on  the  plane  worked  by  the  latter  pulley. 
Both  pulleys  have  a  diameter  of  9  feet.  The  tightening-pulleys  have  a  diameter 
of  only  5  feet.  On  shaft  (B)  and  (C)  are  two  smaller  sheaves  of  6  and  5  feet 
diameter,  arranged  so  as  to  be  put  in  and  out  of  gear.  The  rope  working  the 
main  road  is  of  steel,  one  inch  in  diameter,  and  that  on  the  chain  brow  way  has 
the  same  diameter,  but  is  made  of  iron. 

The  main  road  rope  passes  around  a  tightening-pulley  (D),  about  2070  feet 
from  (B),  and  then  it  passes  twice  around  the  pulley  (E).  There  are  two  pulleys 
on  this  shaft,  the  one  for  the  driving-rope  being  6-foot  diameter,  and  the  one 
working  the  slant  way  5-foot.  The  rope  on  the  latter  is  a  1-inch  iron  rope,  and 
is  tightened  by  the  apparatus  at  (F). 

The  chain  brow  way  has  a  curve  at  (H),  around  which  the  rope  is  taken  by 
means  of  two  4J-foot  pulleys,  placed  horizontally.  This  curve  is  at  an  angle  of 
118  degrees,  and  the  rails  are  laid  at  a  radius  of  only  15  feet.  The  rope  passes 
round  the  tail-sheave  (J),  which  also  acts  as  tightening-pulley.  The  cars  are 
attached  to  the  rope  either  singly  or  in  sets  of  two,  at  a  distance  of  about  60  feet 


of 


45 

from  each  other.  For  making  this  connection  a  f-inch  iron  chain,  6  feet  long, 
with  a  hook  at  each  end,  is  used.  When  the  road  has  a  regular  grade  either 
way,  one  chain  is  sufficient  at  the  end  of  the  car  going  to  rise,  but  on  level  or 
undulating  roads  two  chains  are  necessary.  Fig.  79  shows  the  method  of  hitch- 
ing the  chain.  After  it  has  been  hooked  with  one  end  in  the  coupling-bar  of  the 
car,  the  other  end  is  passed  twice  over  the  rope,  the  hand  being  introduced  under 
the  rope  to  let  the  chain  slide  loosely  on  the  moving  rope  till  the  hook  is  secured. 
When  the  right  number  of  coils  of  chain  have  passed  over  the  rope,  the  hand  is 
withdrawn,  the  point  (H)  is  brought  over  the  hook,  and  the  chain  is  pulled 
tight.  An  expert  hitcher  can  do  it  quick  enough,  before  the  rope  has  time  to 
move  on,  and  does  not  need  to  introduce  his  hand  between  the  coils.  For  dis- 
connecting the  chain  at  the  fore  end,  when  it  is  tight,  it  is  necessary  to  put  the 
foot  on  it  and  press  it  down  to  make  it  loose  enough  for  disconnection. 

The  usual  time  for  attaching  both  chains  is  about  twelve  seconds,  and  a  little 
more  for  disconnecting  them.  The  chain  rarely  slips,  but  when  it  does,  or 
breaks,  the  damage  done  is  generally  heavy.  The  slow  speed  of  1.1  to  1.3  miles 
per  hour,  at  which  the  cars  move,  is  necessary  to  prevent  such  accidents. 

In  the  working  of  the  endless  rope  the  apparatus  for  putting  the  driving-wheel 
in  and  out  of  gear  is  found  to  be  indispensable ;  such  an  apparatus  is  used  at 
both  the  driving-wheels  (B)  and  (O),  and  at  (E)  at  the  bottom  of  the  main  road. 
Thus  the  four  branches  can  be  worked  separately.  The  lower  driving-wheel  at 
the  points  (-B),  (C)  and  (E)  is  fixed  and  the  upper  loose  on  the  shaft,  being  put 
in  gear  by  a  catch-box  worked  by  a  lever ;  the  pulleys  can  be  put  in  gear  while 
the  driving-wheel  is  in  motion,  but  the  engine  is  usually  stopped  in  taking  them 
out  of  gear. 

There  are  two  curves  on  these  planes — one  at  the  bottom  of  the  main  road, 
worked  by  disconnecting  and  reconnecting  the  cars ;  the  other  on  the  chain  brow 
way,  which  is  self-acting.  At  the  former,  which  turns  at  an  angle  of  72  degrees, 
the  motion  is  transmitted  from  one  pulley  to  another  on  the  same  shaft,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  80.  The  road  is  laid  around  the  curve  at  such  an  inclination  that  the 


full  and  empty  cars,  when  disconnected,  run  by  themselves  to  the  place,  where 
they  are  again  attached  to  the  rope.  This  operation  requires  five  hands — one 
man  and  four  boys. 


46 

On  the  chain  brow  way  the  rope  is  taken  around  the  curve  by  two  4J-foot 
pulleys,  each  inclining  slightly  towards  the  "  coraing-on "  side.  The  road  for 
the  full  cars  is  laid  nearly  level,  and  for  the  empty  cars  with  a  slight  rise  from 
the  shaft.  The  pulleys  are  made  with  a  large  flange  on  the  lower  side,  to  pre- 
vent the  rope  slipping  off  and  to  allow  the  knot  of  the  chain  to  pass  easily  in  the 
groove  of  the  wheel  (Fig.  81). 


The  main  driving-rope  wears  out  first,  and  lasts  about  two  years ;  the  other 
ropes  are  worn  in  two  ways :  first,  by  the  friction  of  the  coils  of  rope  upon  the 
pulleys,  and,  secondly,  by  the  moving  of  the  rope  upon  the  cars.  They  last 
about  seven  years. 

The  method  of  working  this  system  ot  endless  ropes,  as  practiced  in  the  other 
pits  named,  is  about  the  same.  At  the  Scotlane  pit  they  have  a  different  way  of 
connecting  the  cars  to  the  rope.  Instead  of  chains  passing  around  the  rope, 
strong  loops  of  hemp  are  fastened  to  the  rope  by  a  wrapping  of  yarn  at  regular 
distances,  the  hook  of  the  h itching-chain  being  attached  to  it  as  shown  in  the 
sketch  below  (Fig.  82). 

fi   g  a, 


'J  t> 


:L  Lei. 


22.  e 


The  loops  are  made  of  hemp  of  1-inch  diameter,  and  last  about  four  months  ; 
they  are  strong  enough  to  draw  twelve  cars  on  a  heavy  grade.  They  are  fixed 
to  the  rope,  51  feet  apart,  thus  making  a  regular  supply  of  full  and  empty  cars 
necessary.  Much  less  labor  is  required  for  connecting  and  disconnecting  by  this 
arrangement,  but  it  would  hardly  be  applicable  on  an  irregular  plane,  where  two 


47 

loops  would  have  to  be  provided  for  each  car  or  set  of  cars.  Although  the  rope 
passes  one  and  a  half  times  round  the  driving-wheel,  the  loops  go  round  without 
causing  any  inconvenience. 

The  amount  of  artificial  tension  to  which  an  endless  rope  must  be  subjected  to 
prevent  its  slipping  on  the  driving-wheel  depends  on  the  number  of  turns  on  the 
wheel,  and  on  the  condition  of  the  surface  of  rope  and  wheel,  or  on  the  co-efficient 
of  friction.  The  smaller  the  co-efficient  of  friction  is  and  the  less  turns  there 
are  on  the  wheel,  the  larger  must  be  the  tension. 

Calling  IF  the  total  resistance,  consisting  of  the  direct  weight  and  the  friction 
produced  by  cars  and  rope,  n  the  number  of  half-turns  of  the  rope  on  the 
driving-wheel,  Zthe  total  artificial  tension  or  weight  attached  to  the  tightening- 
pulley,/the  co-efficient  of  friction,  Q  and  q  the  tension  in  the  pulled  and  loose 
rope,  the  following  relations  must  exist  to  prevent  slipping : 


Q  =  q  e 


Z  =  Q  +  q.          W  =  Q  - 


From  these  three  equations  the  three  unknown  quantities  Q,  q  and  Z  can  be 
calculated.  If  Wis  equal  to  2000  pounds,  and  assuming  for  /an  average  value. 
we  find  for  Z,  when  the  rope  has  from  one  to  six  half-turns: 


n=         1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Z=ll»s.      5992 

3330 

2565 

2220 

2125 

2030 

For  greater  safety  it  is  advisable  in  practice  to  increase  these  figures  by  about 
twenty  per  cent,  to  guard  against  contingencies  like  wet,  icy  weather,  an  oily 
rope,  <fec.,  because  a  larger  direct  tension  is  not  so  injurious  to  the  wear  of  the 
rope  as  its  slipping  on  the  wheel.  We  recommend,  therefore,  the  following 
corrected  table : 


71=             1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

(i 

Z=ll»s.     7191 

3996 

3078 

2724   - 

2550 

2436 

At  a  state  of  rest  this  tension  will  distribute  itself  equally  on  the  two  ropes, 
but  in  a  state  of  motion  the  tension  in  the  pulling-rope  near  the  driving-wheel, 
compared  with  the  tension  in  the  loose  rope,  will  be  as  much  greater  as  the  total 
resistance  amounts  to,  which  in  our  example  is  2000  pounds  •  hence  the  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  tension  in  the  rope  will  be: 


Q=ll,s.  4595 


1 
2                       3j 

4 

Q 

(i 

2998 


2539 


2362 


2275 


2218 


q  =  It  is. 

596        998 

539 

362 

275 

218 

48 


The  increase  in  tension  in  the  endless  rope,  compared  with  the  main  rope  of 
the  tail  system,  where  of  course  one  ton  resistance  produces  onlv  one  ton  of  strain, 
is  therefore : 


Increase  in  ten- 
sion in  endless 
rojie  compared 
with  direct 
strain j 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

130 

50. 

27 

18 

14 

11 

In  calculating  the  strength  of  an  endless  rope,  under  different  conditions  of  the 
road,  according  to  length  and  inclination,  the  results  must  be  increased  according 
to  the  number  of  turns  given  to  the  rope  on  the  driving-wheel.  For  instance, 
at  the  Imperial  mine  n  is  equal  3,  hence  the  rope  must  be  27  per  cent,  stronger 
than  a  main  and  tail  rope  would  have  to  be.  With  the  endless  system,  one-third, 
or  33  per  cent,  was  saved  in  length,  but  considering  the  increased  size  of  rope 
the  real  saving  in  weight  or  money  cannot  be  placed  higher  than  six  or  seven 
per  cent. 

Comparing  the  tail  rope  and  endless  systems,  with  their  respective  advantages, 
we  may  say : 

1.  The  endless  rope  system  is  a  little  cheaper  than  the  tail  rope. 

2.  The  duration  of  ropes  is  about  the  same,  but  more  in  favor  of  the  tail  rope 
system. 

3.  The  condition  of  grades  in  the  road  causes  no  inconvenience  to  either  of  the 
two  systems. 

4.  Where  frequent  stoppages  are  made,  to  take  and  leave  cars  at  side  stations, 
the  endless  system,  with  a  good  grip  arrangement,  is  admirably  adapted  and 
undoubtedly  to  bo  preferred. 

5.  The  cost  of  labor  for  making  connections  and  disconnections  is  about  the 
same  in  both  systems,  although  in  the  endless  system  No.  2,  as  lastly  described, 
it  is  somewhat  larger. 

6.  Curves  are  not  convenient  in  the  endless  system,  but  are  easily  worked  with 
the  tail  rope  system. 

7.  For  working  a  number  of  branches  by  rope  haulage,  the  tail  rope  system  is 
certainly  preferable. 


49 


FEEDING  COKE  OVENS  BY  MEANS  OF  WIRE  ROPE. 

The  manufacture  of  coke  is  an  important  branch  of  coal  mining,  and  is  an 
industry  which  in  the  last  ten  years  has  assumed  immense  proportions  in  districts 
where  the  coal  is  too  soft  and  bituminous  to  be  directly  merchantable. 

Along  the  upper  Monongahela  and  Youghiogheny  rivers,  and  in  their  side 
valleys,  whole  villages  have  sprung  up,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  engaged  in 
the  coke  business,  and  thousands  of  coke  ovens,  extending  in  rows  often  for  miles, 
make  the  surrounding  country  dark  with  their  dense  smoke  and  illuminate  the 
night  with  numberless  bright  flames. 

A  coke  oven  is  cylindrical  in  shape,  having  a  spherical  cupola.  It  is  about  12 
feet  in  diameter  and  8  feet  high,  and  occupies  a  length  of  14  feet  in  the  row.  At 
the  top  there  is  a  hole  15  inches  in  diameter  for  charging,  and  at  the  side  a  larger 
opening  for  emptying.  During  the  process  of  burning  the  latter  is  kept  closed 
with  fire-brick  and  clay,  so  as  to  keep  out  the  air.  The  burning  requires  48 
hours,  during  which  time  all  gas  is  consumed  and  the  pure  carbon  is  left.  The 
fire  is  extinguished  by  water,  the  coke  taken  out  and  the  oven  charged  immedi- 
ately anew,  the  remaining  heat  being  sufficient  to  ignite  the  coal.  The  ovens  are 
built  in  rows,  numbering  from  50  to  500,  often  in  a  single  line  but  more  fre- 
quently in  a  double  line,  so  that  on  each  side  of  the  row  the  coke  can  be  taken 
out.  A  railroad  track  runs  along  the  foot  of  the  ovens  for  the  convenience  of 
loading  the  coke  directly  from  the  ovens  into  cars.  The  filling  is  done  by  a 
specially-constructed  funnel-shaped  car  called  "the  larry,"  which  runs  on  a  track 
directly  over  the  upper  openings  on  a  single  row  of  ovens,  or  between  them  on  a 
double  row.  The  larry  is  accordingly  of  different  construction — for  the  first  one 
with  a  drop-door  at  the  bottom,  and  for  the  second  with  side  doors  and  a  chute 
for  guiding  the  coal  into  the  holes.  Each  larry  contains  four  pit-car  loads,  or 
about  four  tons  of  coal,  which  is  the  usual  quantity  for  charging  one  oven. 

The  larries  are  generally  drawn  by  mules,  walking  on  top  of  the  rows  between 
the  openings  from  which  emerge  the  flames  of  the  ovens.  It  is  a  very  toilsome 
and  dangerous  work,  frequently  injuring  the  animals  and  causing  loss  to  the 
owners.  Economy,  as  well  as  humane  feelings  for  the  animals,  would  therefore 
recommend  replacing  the  mules  by  some  mechanical  power. 

The  use  of  the  locomotive  for  feeding  coke  ovens  is  in  most  cases  too  expensive, 
and  is  only  practicable  in  the  very  largest  works,  but  a  small  wire  rope  offers  a 
simple  and  cheap  means  for  hauling  the  larries  to  and  from  the  ovens.  The 
engine  working  the  hoisting  apparatus  of  the  shaft  or  slope  of  the  mine  will  work 
this  rope  so  that  the  whole  outlay,  besides  the  rope,  would  consist  in  the  cost  of 
a  drum  and  a  number  of  supporting-rollers.  Some  works  in  the  Pennsylvania 
coke  region  have  adopted  this  method  with  perfect  success. 

The  arrangement  of  the  systems  at  the  works  of  the  Stewart  Iron  Co.  is  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  83*  9  83*,  Plate  21,  showing  ground  plan  and  elevation.  There  are 
two  lines  of  ovens,  about  560  feet  long,  one  consisting  of  a  single  row,  the  other 
of  a  double  row.  They  are  built  upon  the  principle  of  an  engine  plane,  with  a 


50 

slight  inclination,  so  that  the  full  larries  descend  by  their  own  weight  and  the 
empty  ones  are  hauled  back  by  the  rope.  Each  row  is  worked  by  an  independ- 
ent i\-inch  steel  rope,  700  feet  long,  coiling  and  uncoiling  itself  on  drum  (A}  or 
(B\  which  form  a  part  of  the  hoisting  engine  for  the  slope  of  the  mine.  (Com- 
pare, also,  Fig.  £6,  Plate  5.)  On  the  double  row  of  ovens  the  rope  runs  in  the 
centre  of  the  track,  but  on  the  single  row  it  runs  outside,  being  hitched  to  the 
larry  as  shown  in  Fig.  84- 

Two  larries  are  employed  for  doing  the  work,  and  as  60  loads  are  necessary 
per  day  to  fill  the  ovens,  each  larry  must  make  about  30  trips.  The  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  hoisting  engine  also  tends  to  the  drums  for  the  larry  ropes.  It 
would  require  the  service  of  three  mules  to  do  the  same  work,  and  a  simple 
calculation  will  prove  the  economy  of  the  rope  system.  The  maintenance  of 
three  mules  per  month  is  $45,  the  cost  of  1400  feet  of  rope  $140  ;  hence  in  less 
than  four  months  the  maintenance  of  the  mules  pays  for  the  rope,  which  will  last 
from  18  to  24  months.  The  cost  of  three  mules  also  is  higher  than  the  two 
drums  and  supporting-rollers. 

Another  example  is  illustrated  by  Fig.  85,  Plate  21y  representing  the  coke  ovens 
of  the  Leisenring  works.  The  endless  rope  system  has  been  applied  here.  The 
splice  consists  of  a  chain  30  feet  long,  which  is  attached  to  the  rope  ends  with  sockets. 
The  rope  starts  with  half  a  turn  from  drum  (Z)),  passes  around  the  tension 
sheave  ($),  then  over  the  drum  (O),  and  is  guided  into  the  line  of  the  ovens  by 
the  sheaves  (L}y  (  W)  and  (Q).  The  tension  sheave  (8)  rests  on  a  sliding  frame, 
which  is  attached  to  a  fixed  post  by  a  screw.  There  are  two  rows  of  ovens, 
100  feet  apart,  the  rope  running  out  on  one  row  and  returning  on  the 
other,  being  supported  upon  wooden  frames  in  the  intervening  space.  Both 
lines  of  ovens  are  in  double  rows,  hence  the  rope  travels  in  the  centre  of  the 
track,  resting  on  wooden  rollers  placed  25  feet  apart.  The  attachment  of  the 
larry  to  the  rope  is  shown  in  Fig.  86.  A  hook  (H),  moved  forward  and  back- 
ward by  means  of  the  lever  (P),  slides  in  a  slot  in  the  bumpers,  one  time  con- 
necting the  two  timbers,  another  leaving  a  space  (/)  between  them.  The  larry 
man  lifts  with  his  hand  the  splice-chain  between  the  two  timbers  and  catches  it 
with  the  hook.  If  he  wants  to  stop,  he  pulls  the  lever  and  places  the  hook  in 
the  position  indicated  by  dotted  lines.  This  opens  the  space  (/),  and  the  chain 
drops.  At  the  same  time  he  pulls  the  wire  of  a  bell  signal  for  the  engineer  to 
stop  the  engine,  because  the  attachment  can  only  be  made  to  the  splicing-chain, 
which  for  this  purpose  should  remain  under  the  larry.  The  great  length  of  the 
chain  is  an  advantage,  because  it  allows  a  certain  motion  of  the  rope  before  the 
splice-chain  is  drawn  beyond  the  clutch. 

The  larries  are  filled  at  the  tipple  (T),  and  it  is  customary  to  run  four  larries 
to  a  trip,  the  first  one  only  being  provided  with  the  clutch,  the  others  coupled  to 
it  and  to  each  other  by  a  wooden  bar.  In  the  manner  described  it  is  possible  to 
stop  at  any  place  and  to  go  on  again  in  either  direction,  according  to  the  signal 
given  the  engineer.  After  the  larries  have  returned  from  their  trips  on  one  row 
of  ovens  they  are  switched  over  to  the  other,  the  rope  traveling  in  the  meantime 
all  round  the  upper  end  until  the  coupling-chain  arrives  at  (Z) ;  the  object  of 


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51 

this  being  to  avoid  having  the  sockets  and  chain  go  over  the  drums  and  tighten- 
ing-sheave.  The  service  is  arranged  so  that  only  one  shift  is  necessary  per  day, 
the  ovens  of  the  left  row  generally  being  charged  in  the  morning,  those  of  the 
right  row  in  the  afternoon.  The  rope  is  of  steel  of  f-inch  diameter,  and  lasts 
about  eight  months.  But  even  with  this  short  life  of  the  rope,  and  in  spite  of  a 
separate  engine  and  engineer  for  working  the  rope,  the  owners  find  it  more 
economical  than  the  service  of  mules — four  of  which,  at  least,  would  be  necessary 
for  performing  the  work. 

A  more  convenient  method  of  working  would  be  to  provide  each  track  with 
two  ropes,  running  between  the  rails  in  opposite  directions,  there  being  sufficient 
room  on  the  road  for  two  ropes  side  by  side,  as  the  gauge  of  the  larry  track  varies 
from  five  to  seven  feet.  The  rope  would  start  from  a  common  drum  or  grip- 
wheel,  and,  as  shown  in  Fig.  87,  could  be  guided  in  the  line  of  one  or  several 
rows  of  ovens.  At  the  end  of  its  course  it  would  pass  round  a  wheel  (JR)  and 
return  alongside  the  first  rope  until  joining  it  again  at  the  wheel  (A). 


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This  wheel  could  be  driven  by  the  mine  engine,  and  the  only  manual  labor 
necessary  would  be  to  put  it  in  or  out  of  gear  according  to  demand.  During  the 
working  hours  the  rope  would  be  continually  in  motion,  and  for  stopping  and 
starting  the  larries  at  will  it  must  be  possible  to  grip  the  rope  at  any  point. 
The  clutch  of  the  Leisenring  larries  would  therefore  not  answer,  but  one  of  the 
clutches  shown  in  Figs.  75,  76,  Plate  18,  could  certainly  be  used  with  advan- 
tage. They  are  simple,  and  their  efficiency  has  been  proved  in  practice.  They 
can  be  applied  to  any  larry  and  do  not  require  that  the  rope  should  be  lifted  up, 
as  they  slide  easily  over  the  rollers.  To  facilitate  this  sliding  we  would  suggest, 
as  an  improvement,  the  tapering  of  the  ends  of  the  jaw,  instead  of  leaving  them,  as 
shown  in  the  sketches,  of  the  same  thickness  throughout.  The  short  chain 
with  which  the  clutch  is  attached  to  the  larry  will  enable  the  larryman  to  grip 


52 

either  of  the  two  ropes,  according  to  the  direction  in  which  he  is  bound.  For 
the  best  preservation  of  the  rope  the  slowest  possible  speed  is  advisable.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  case  of  Stewart  Iron  Co.,  who  require  30  larries  a  day  on  a  row  of  ovens 
560  feet  long,  and  assume  that  each  larry  would  run  to  the  farther  end,  the 
whole  distance  traveled  in  the  thirty  double  trips  during  ten  hours,  it  amounts 
to  only  6.3  miles.  Hence  a  speed  of  one  mile  per  hour  would  be  ample  for 
doing  the  work  at  these  ovens.  Considering  that  three  or  four  larries  can  be  run 
out  at  the  same  time,  we  may  say  that  a  speed  of  from  two  to  four  miles  per 
hour  would  be  sufficient  even  for  the  largest  coke  works.  With  a  speed  not 
exceeding  four  miles,  the  rope  would  last  about  two  years.  There  is  a  wide  field 
here  for  inventive  spirits  to  improve  the  grips  for  this  purpose,  and  in  fact  there 
are  already  many  patents  in  existence  for  an  apparatus  for  gripping  the  rope  of 
passenger  cable  roads  which  are  in  principle  the  same  as  the  above-suggested 
arrangement.  It  is  true,  this  requires  double  the  length  of  rope  that  the  Leisen- 
ring  works  have  now  in  use,  but  the  wages  of  two  months  for  an  extra  engineer 
would  pay  for  the  additional  rope. 

Though  the  arrangements  described  in  the  last  chapter  are  above  ground,  they 
are  of  the  same  nature  as  underground  work,  and  bear  so  intimate  a  relation  with 
coal  mines  that  they  could  properly  be  placed  under  the  same  heading. 

From  the  description  given  in  the  foregoing  pages  of  the  various  methods  of 
wire  rope  haulage  in  operation  at  so  many  coal  mines,  there  can  no  longer  be  any 
doubt  of  the  practicability  of  this  method  of  transportation  under  any  circum- 
stances. The  only  question  to  the  practical  man  will  yet  be :  Is  the  conveyance 
of  coal  by  wire  rope  as  economical  as  it  is  efficient?  This  question  can  be 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  Comparing  the  transportation  by  locomotives  or  by 
mules  (the  only  two  methods  which  can  come  into  consideration),  we  find  that 
both  are  considerably  more  expensive  than  haulage  by  wire  rope. 

The  possible  application  of  locomotives  is  very  limited,  as  they  can  only  be 
used  on  certain  grades  which  are  rarely  met  with  in  mines.  A  great  objection  to 
locomotives  is  also  the  inevitable  smoke  and  foul  air  produced  by  them.  There 
are  mines  which  on  account  of  this  inconvenience  have  abandoned  the  use  of 
locomotives.  It  was  also  found  that  in  spite  of  favorable  gradients  the  expenses 
for  hauling  by  locomotives  were  greater  than  they  were  formerly,  when  the  whole 
haulage  was  done  by  mules. 

Mules  or  horses  are  used  in  all  mines  for  drawing  pit-cars  from  the  working 
rooms  to  the  partings,  or  the  reverse.  For  very  short  distances  and  on  not  too 
excessive  grades  they  will  probably  always  be  a  convenient  and  economical 
motive  power.  There  are,  however,  still  many  mines  in  which  mules  are 
employed  exclusively,  even  where  the  coal  must  be  hauled  long  distances.  In 
such  cases  the  owners  will  always  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  replace  the  mules 
by  a  wire  rope  arrangement. 

Long  experience  has  established  that  the  best  results  of  animal  traction  are 
obtained  on  grades  of  1  foot  in  130  feet  in  favor  of  the  load,  and  at  a  traveling 
speed  of  2J  miles  per  hour.  The  pulling  force  of  a  mule  walking  at  this  speed 
.and  working  ten  hours  per  day  is  75  to  80  pounds.  Within  small  limits  of  these 


53 

normal  conditions  the  load  to  be  pulled  and  the  speed  with  which  the  animal 
travels  can  be  varied  in  inverse  proportion  without  changing  appreciably  the  net 
effect  of  the  performed  labor,  but  the  favorable  results  decrease  rapidly  with 
higher  speeds,  steeper  grades  or  grades  against  the  load. 

Careful  investigations  made  by  the  author  in  regard  to  the  cost  of  a  wire  rope 
plane  and  the  running  expenses,  compared  with  the  cost  of  mules,  the  expenses 
of  their  maintenance  and  drivers'  wages,  have  given  the  following  result :  On 
roads  shorter  than  one-quarter  of  a  mile,  and  on  a  grade  in  favor  of  the  load  of 
1  foot  in  130  feet  up  to  1  foot  in  70  feet,  there  will  be  a  difference  of  14$r  of  a  cent 
per  ton  in  favor  of  mule  haulage.  If,  however,  the  grade  is  against  the  load, 
the  haulage  by  mules  costs  from  60  to  80  per  cent,  more  than  that  by  wire  rope. 
If  the  road  has  a  length  of  one-half  mile  the  cost  of  mule  haulage  is  25  per  cent, 
more  than  wire  rope  haulage  on  a  grade  of  1  in  130  in  favor  of  the  load,  and 
200  per  cent,  more  if  the  same  grade  is  against  the  load.  The  difference 
increases  in  the  same  proportion  for  longer  roads ;  for  instance,  to  convey  coal 
a  distance  of  1 J  miles  it  will  cost  three  times  as  much  by  mules  as  by  wire  rope 
on  a  favorable  grade  for  the  former,  and  more  than  five  times  as  much  on  an 
unfavorable  grade. 

The  average  cost  of  wire  rope  haulage  on  an  undulating  grade  is  2.2  cents  per 
ion  per  mile,  and  that  of  mule  haulage  7.6  cents. 

In  the  majority  of  mines  the  grades  are  more  unfavorable  for  mule  haulage 
than  was  assumed  in  the  calculation  of  this  comparative  cost,  and  the  difference 
will  be  still  more  in  favor  of  hauling  by  wire  rope. 

All  the  owners  of  the  previously-described  mines  agree  that  without  the  rope 
machinery  they  would  have  to  close  the  mines,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to 
convey  the  coal  economically  enough  by  any  other  method. 


V.  WIRE  ROPE  TRAMWAYS. 

The  methods  of  conveying  coal  and  other  mining  products  on  a  suspended 
rope  tramway  belong  exclusively  to  overground  haulage,  and  find  especial  appli- 
cation in  places  where  a  mine  is  located  on  one  side  of  a  river  or  deep  ravine  and 
the  loading  station  on  the  other.  A  wire  rope  suspended  between  the  two  sta- 
tions forms  the  track  on  which  material  in  properly  constructed  "carriages"  or 
"  buggies  "  can  be  transported  as  quickly  and  safely  as  over  the  solid  ground. 
It  saves  the  construction  of  a  bridge  or  costly  trestlework,  and  is  practical  for  a 
-distance  of  2000  feet  without  an  intermediate  support. 

There  are  two  distinct  classes  of  rope  tramways : 

(a.)  The  rope  is  stationary,  forming  the  track  on  which  a  bucket  holding  the 
material  moves  forward  and  backward,  pulled  by  a  smaller  endless  wire  rope. 

(b.)  The  rope  is  movable,  forming  itself  an  endless  line,  which  serves  at  the 
same  time  as  supporting-track  and  as  .pulling-rope. 

Of  these  two  the  first  method  has  found  more  general  application,  and  is 
especially  adapted  for  long  spans,  steep  inclinations  and  heavy  loads.  The 


54 

second  method  is  used  for  long  distances,  divided  into  short  spans,  and  is  only 
applicable  for  light  loads  which  are  to  be  delivered  at  regular  intervals. 

(a.)     TRAMWAYS   WITH   STATIONARY    ROPES. 

Rope  tramways  of  this  kind  are  constructed  in  great  numbers  in  all  parts  of  this 
country,  and  serve  a  variety  of  purposes.  They  convey  mining  products  across 
rivers,  or  stones  from  the  depth  of  quarries  to  the  banks,  and  in  manufacturing 
establishments  are  frequently  used  to  distribute  material  taken  from  boats  or 
cars  to  certain  storing  places  in  the  yards. 

A  few  examples  will  give  a  clearer  understanding  of  their  construction  and 
method  of  operation. 

Fig.  88,  Plate  22,  illustrates  the  tramway  used  by  Mr.  Stanley  Loomis,  at 
Logansport,  Pa.  The  rope  is  suspended  in  a  single  span  of  1400  feet  across  the 
Allegheny  river,  and  serves  to  convey  coal  and  limestone  from  the  west  shore  to 
the  Allegheny  Valley  R.  R.  on  the  east  shore.  On  the  west  side  there  is  a  high 
bluff,  while  the  opposite  side  is  low,  making  a  difference  of  190  feet  in  the  height 
of  the  two  points  of  suspension.  The  rope  is  of  cast-steel,  of  2  inch  diameter, 
and  contains,  around  a  hemp  centre,  six  strands  of  19  wires  each,  with  a  total 
ultimate  strength  of  100  tons.  A  "carriage"  constructed  with  three  wheels 
(Fig.  91),  with  an  iron  bucket  suspended  to  it,  is  pulled  across  by  an  endless 
steel  wire  rope  of  J-inch  diameter,  driven  by  an  engine  situated  on  the  bluff  of 
the  west  shore.  The  pulling-rope  passes  at  each  end  around  a  single-grooved 
rubber-lined  pulley  of  3-foot  diameter,  the  large  span  producing  sufficient  tension 
to  prevent  its  slipping.  Motion  is  given  to  one  of  the  pulleys  by  a  belt  from 
the  engine  shaft.  The  time  for  a  single  trip  is  half  a  minute,  while  a  round  trip, 
including  loading  and  unloading,  can  be  made  about  every  four  minutes.  The 
weight  of  the  carriage  and  empty  bucket  is  1  \  tons,  and  ihe  bucket  contains  3J 
tons  of  material,  making  the  total  weight  of  the  passing  load  5  tons.  This, 
together  with  the  weight  of  the  rope,  produces  a  strain  of  28  tons,  or  the  three 
and  six-tenth  part  of  its  breaking  strength.  Besides  this  direct  strain  there  are 
local  strains  in  the  wires,  arising  from  being  bent  around  the  wheels  of  the  car- 
riage. In  a  later  chapter  we  shall  show  that  these  latter  strains  are  considerable, 
and  that  the  duration  of  a  tramway  rope  depends  largely  upon  the  proper  con- 
struction of  the  carriage. 

The  towers  at  either  end,  on  which  the  rope  is  supported,  can  be  constructed 
of  a  wooden  frame-work,  as  shown  in  Fig.  89,  and  the  connection  with  the  cable 
is  best  made  with  a  movable  link  (Fig.  90).  This  is  preferable  to  passing  the 
rope  over  the  top  of  the  timbers,  because  the  great  deflection  under  the  passing 
load  has  a  tendency  to  break  the  wires  where  they  bend  over  the  edge  of  the 
wood.  As  every  rope  stretches,  it  is  advisable  to  provide  it  with  an  adjustment, 
consisting  either  of  a  turn-buckle  to  which  the  rope  can  be  attached  by  means 
of  a  wrought-iron  open  socket,  or  of  a  screw- stirrup  and  cast-iron  socket  as 
shown  in  Fig.  90.  Mr.  Loomis  states  it  as  his  experience  that  smooth  cast-iron 
carriage  wheels  were  less  injurious  to  the  wear  of  the  rope  than  wooden  wheels 


55 

or  iron  ones  lined  with  wood.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  wires  are  not  worn  very- 
much,  and  they  break  not  because  their  section  is  reduced,  but  because  they  are 
too  often  strained  beyond  their  limit  of  elasticity  by  the  continuous  bending. 

A  type  of  wire  rope  tramway,  which  is  frequently  used  in  Switzerland  for  trans- 
porting logs  from  the  top  of  a  mountain  to  the  valley,  is  represented  in  Fig.  92, 
Plate  23.  The  logs  are  suspended  to  a  simple  carriage  of  two  wheels,  and  the 
rope  has  enough  inclination  to  allow  the  loaded  carriage  to  run  down  hill  by  its 
gravity,  pulling  up  at  the  same  time  the  empty  carriage.  For  this  purpose  a 
small  wire  rope,  passing  around  a  drum  or  wheel  on  top  of  the  hill,  is  connected 
to  each  carriage  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  cars  on  a  gravity  plane — this  kind 
of  tramway  being  in  reality  nothing  else  than  a  self-acting  inclined  plane  sus- 
pended in  the  air.  At  the  meeting  place  of  the  two  carriages  a  light  scaffold  is 
erected  for  a  couple  of  men  to  stand  on,  whose  duty  it  is  to  lift  the  empty  car- 
riage off  the  rope  and  put  it  on  again  on  the  upper  side  of  the  descending  loaded 
one.  Of  course,  in  stretching  two  ropes  side  by  side  the  services  of  these  men 
could  be  dispensed  with  and  the  travel  of  the  two  carriages  be  made  automatic. 
A  simple  calculation  of  the  comparative  cost  will  in  each  case  decide  which 
method  will  be  the  most  economical. 

Another  tramway  of  large  dimensions  is  illustrated  in  Plate  2£,  Figs.  93-97. 
It  is  situated  at  Lumberville,  Pa.,  and  serves  to  convey  granite  blocks,  broken 
from  W.  H.  Kemble's  quarry,  across  the  Delaware  river  to  the  Belvidere  Divis- 
ion of  the  Pennsylvania  R.  R.  The  distance  from  the  Pennsylvania  shore  to 
the  Jersey  shore  is  998  feet,  which  has  been  spanned  with  a  If -inch  steel  rope, 
supported  on  each  side  on  wooden  towers,  the  ends  of  the  rope  being  securely 
anchored. 

The  stone  blocks  are  brought  from  the  depth  of  the  quarry  on  an  inclined 
plane,  operated  by  the  same  engine  which  drives  the  pulling-rope.  A  special 
car  runs  on  the  incline,  taking  a  wooden  box  filled  with  paving  blocks  up  or  an 
empty  one  down.  Each  box  is  provided  with  a  short  chain,  and  when  the  car 
of  the  incline  arrives  on  top,  under  the  rope  carriage,  this  chain  is  connected 
with  the  carriage,  and  the  latter,  with  the  box  suspended  to  it,  is  now  ready 
to  be  pulled  across  the  river.  One  end  of  the  chain  passes  over  a  small 
pulley,  and  when  the  carriage  has  reached  the  other  shore  a  pull  on  this  chain 
will  easily  tip  the  box  and  empty  its  contents  into  a  railroad  car.  The  pulling- 
rope  is  of  f-inch  diameter,  and  motion  is  given  to  it  by  a  grip-wheel  on  the 
Pennsylvania  side,  while  the  return-wheel  on  the  opposite  side  consists  simply  of 
a  grooved  sheave.  Figs.  95  and  97  show  different  methods  of  anchoring  the 
cable.  This  tramway,  with  all  machinery  and  appliances,  was  planned  and  built 
by  A.  J.  B.  Berger. 

In  the  Pennsylvania  slate  region  of  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  the  wire  rope 
tramways  have  proved  to  be  of  valuable  service,  and  are  constructed  in  great  num- 
bers. The  general  type  of  them  we  represent  on  Plate  25,  Figs.  98-10%,  taken 
from  the  Old  Bangor  quarry.  The  quarry  is  very  extensive,  and  four  or  five 
ropes,  at  short  distances  from  each  other,  are  stretched  from  the  height  of  one 
bank  to  a  point  on  the  opposite  bank  low  enough  to  give  the  rope  sufficient 


56 

inclination  for  the  carriage  or  buggy  to  descend  by  force  of  gravity.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  method  of  operation  : 

The  empty  buggy,  held  in  position  at  point  (A)  by  a  frame  (8)  (Fig.  99),  is 
made  free  by  pulling  at  the  rope  (J)  and  placing  the  frame  in  the  position  (8l). 
It  descends  by  its  own  gravity,  pulling  the  hoisting-rope  (FT)  after  it,  which 
uncoils  from  the  drum  ( Q).  This  drum  runs  loose  on  the  shaft,  and  is  provided 
with  a  brake  to  enable  the  engineer  to  regulate  the  downward  motion  of  the 
buggy.  At  a  certain  point  of  the  rope,  above  a  place  in  the  quarry  from  which 
the  stones  are  to  be  taken,  an  iron  block  ( W)  called  "  the  jack  "  is  secured  to  the 
rope,  stopping  the  buggy  from  going  farther  (Fit/.  100).  The  hoisting-pulley 
(L)  sinks  vertically  by  its  own  weight,  while  the  hoisting-rope  still  uncoils  from 
the  drum  and  follows  the  pulley.  To  prevent  it  from  being  dragged  through 
the  mud  or  over  the  stones,  it  is  supported  by  a  roller  (P)  on  the  little  carriage 
(R).  A  light  hemp  rope  connects  this  carriage  with  a  wooden  counterweight 
(C),  which  slides  on  the  back  cable  and  can  stop  the  descent  of  the  carriage  at 
any  desired  point.  When  the  buggy  returns  it  pushes  this  supporting-carriage 
back,  while  the  counter- weight  (C)  sinks  toward  the  anchorage;  and  when  the 
buggy  goes  out  again  the  little  carriage  follows  by  its  own  weight  until  stopped, 
because  the  counter- weight  has  reached  the  top  of  the  derrick.  After  the  slate, 
either  in  a  single  block  or  in  smaller  pieces  in  a  box,  has  been  attached  to  the  hook 
of  the  hoisting-block,  the  engineer  puts  the  drum  (Q)  in  gear  and  hoists  until  the 
pulley  (L)  reaches  the  carriage  in  the  position  shown  in  Fig.  100.  .In  continuing 
to  hoist,  the  pulling-rope  causes  the  buggy  with  its  load  to  ascend  the  rope 
towards  the  derrick  until  reaching  point  (A),  where  it  is  held  in  position  by  the 
frame  (8).  As  soon  as  the  strain  is  taken  away  from  the  hoisting- rope  the  drum 
is  put  out  of  gear  and  the  load  immediately  sinks  to  the  ground.  After  it  has 
been  taken  off,  the  drum  is  put  in  gear,  the  block  hoisted,  the  frame  (8)  raised, 
then  the  drum  again  put  out  of  gear,  and  the  buggy  starts  out  on  another  trip, 
all  operations  being  repeated. 

The  stop-block  ( W)  slides  down  the  rope  by  its  own  weight,  and  is  held  in 
position  or  can  be  moved  upward  by  a  J-inch  wire  rope,  supported  on  small 
rollers  in  the  buggy  and  little  carriage,  running  over  the  derrick  to-an  extra  drum, 
which  also  can  be  placed  in  and  out  of  gear  according  to  necessity.  The  buggy 
in  its  present  construction  is  the  invention  of  Charles  Shuman,  and  it  performs  its 
work  with  perfect  satisfaction. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  for  the  success  of  this  arrangement  two  things  are 
necessary :  first,  the  friction  resisting  the  downward  motion  of  the  buggy  must 
be  smaller  than  the  friction  resisting  the  vertical  descent  of  the  empty  hoisting- 
block;  and,  secondly,  the  friction  resisting  the  upward  motion  of  the  buggy 
must  be  larger  than  the  friction  resisting  the  ascent  of  the  loaded  hoisting-block. 
If  these  two  conditions  do  not  exist,  in  the  first  case  the  pulley  would  run  down 
before  the  buggy  could  descend  to  its  desired  place,  and  in  the  second  case  the 
buggy  would  move  up  before  the  stone  had  been  hoisted,  making  suc- 
cessful work  impossible.  The  necessary  favorable  conditions  depend  upon  the 
inclination  of  the  rope,  the  diameter  of  the  carriage  wheels  and  the  proportion 


57 

between  the  weights  of  the  carriage  and  the  empty  and  loaded  hoisting-block. 
The  buggy,  with  hoisting- pulleys,  weighs  1200  pounds,  and  the  load  of  stone 
varies  from  half  a  ton  to  two  tons.  The  cost  for  buggy,  jack  and  supporting- 
carriage  is  about  $150.  The  hoisting  engine  has  an  upright  cylinder  8x12 
inches,  a  gearing  of  a  4-foot  spur-wheel  with  8-inch  pinion,  and  a  drum  of 
32-inch  diameter.  The  span  of  the  tramway  is  about  450  feet,  but  the  pulling- 
rope  is  1000  feet  long,  of  which  900  feet  can  be  coiled  on  the  drum  in  one 
minute.  The  duration  of  the  hoisting-rope  is  about  one  year,  while  the  standing 
rope  lasts  generally  from  two  to  four  years.  Both  are  steel  ropes,  with  19  wires 
to  the  strand,  the  first  of  f-inch,  the  second  of  If-inch  diameter.  Fig.  102 
shows  the  top  of  the  derrick,  with  the  rollers  over  which  the  different  ropes  pass, 
and  Fig.  101  illustrates  the  method  of  anchoring  the  back  cable. 

The  wire  rope  tramways  of  the  Burden  Iron  Co.  (Plates  26, 27,  Figs.  103-111} 
are  used  to  transport  coal  and  iron  ore  from  the  boat  landing  to  certain  storing 
places  in  the  yard.  Differing  from  the  systems  so  far  described,  these  tramways 
have  the  peculiarity  that  they  can  be  shifted  sideways  from  one  place  to  another, 
so  that  it  would  be  possible  with  one  rope  to  distribute  material  over  the  whole 
yard,  though  in  reality  the  company  employs  five  ropes  in  a  width  of  about  500 
feet.  For  this  purpose  the  towers  or  derricks  (Figs.  103-105}  are  provided  with 
oast- iron  shoes  at  the  foot  of  each  post,  and  rest  on  iron  rails  secured  to  heavy 
timbers,  which  run  along  the  whole  width  of  the  yard.  The  shoes  are  shaped  in 
such  a  way  that  it  is  easy  to  move  the  towers  in  the  direction  of  the  rail,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  prevent  them  from  being  lifted  up.  The  rear  post  of  the  tower 
serves,  therefore,  also,  as  anchorage  for  the  cable  in  case  the  strain  in  the  same 
should  produce  a  greater  upsetting  movement  in  the  tower  than  the  latter's  own 
weight  could  resist.  An  ingenious  construction  of  the  carriage  and  stop-block 
makes  the  lowering,  hoisting  and  emptying  of  the  bucket  automatic.  Figs.  107- 
109  show  the  bucket  in  three  different  positions — when  traveling  along,  when 
emptying  its  contents,  and  when  being  lowered  to  the  boat.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  when  the  carriage  arrives  at  the  stop-block  (Figs.  Ill'',  Hl*\  a  bell-crank- 
shaped  lever  (P)  of  the  bucket  strikes  against  the  arm  (A)  of  the  stop-block, 
unhooking  the  bucket,  which,  being  heavier  in  front  when  loaded,  tilts  and 
empties  the  material  (Fig.  108}.  When  pulled  away  from  the  stop-block,  the 
bucket,  being  balanced  when  empty,  rights  itself  again.  Two  bars  (L)  secured 
to  the  carriage  frame  and  pressed  together  by  the  springs  (8)  support  the  hook 
(H)  of  the  block  to  which  the  bucket  is  suspended.  At  the  outer  derrick  there 
is  a  pin  ( W),  placed  in  such  a  position  that  it  presses  the  two  arms  (L)  apart, 
releasing  the  hook  (H)  and  enabling  the  bucket  to  be  lowered.  The  hoisting- 
rope  is  of  hemp,  the  pulling-rope  of  the  carriage  of  {-inch  steel.  The  latter 
passes  around  a  pulley  at  the  outer  derrick,  and  at  the  inner  derrick  is  guided 
over  two  sheaves  down  to  drum  (M\  around  which  it  takes  several  turns  to 
insure  friction  (Figs.  103,  106}.  The  stop-block  is  provided,  besides  its  running 
wheels,  with  several  rollers  for  the  support  of  the  pulling  and  hoisting  rope. 
For  changing  its  position  a  small  rope  is  attached  to  it,  reaching  to  the  ground, 
so  that  the  block  can  easily  be  moved  by  hand. 


58 

Another  hoisting  and  conveying  apparatus,  constructed  with  the  object  of  stop- 
ping the  traveling  carriage  at  any  desired  point  of  the  tramway  rope,  has  been 
patented  by  M.  W.  Locke.  It  consists  (Fig.  IIP)  of  a  two- wheeled  carriage,  to 

Fif  III0' 


which  the  hoisting-block  is  attached  by  a  hook  (H).  A.  short  piece  of  rope 
connecting  the  carriage  frame  with  the  hoisting-rope  prevents  the  block 
from  being  hoisted  higher  than  the  hook,  because  as  soon  as  this  short  piece: 
of  rope  becomes  tight  the  pull  of  the  hoisting-rope  is  transferred  to  the  carriage,, 


59 

moving  the  same  in  place  of  hoisting  the  block.  At  the  point  where  the  load  is 
intended  to  be  lowered  a  man  pulls  the  chain  ( W\  turning  the  chain-wheel  (8), 
which  works  a  screw  and  tightens  a  grip  within  the  carriage  frame  of  similar 
construction  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  76,  Plate  18.  The  hook  (H)  is  connected 
with  a  long  lever  (L\  and  in  pulling  the  rope  (M)  the  block  is  made  free  from  the 
hook  and  can  be  lowered.  The  apparatus  is  adapted  only  to  places  where  the 
tramway  rope  has  sufficient  inclination  to  allow  the  carriage  to  descend  by  force 
of  gravity,  and  where  the  space  under  the  rope  is  free  of  obstructions  which 
would  interfere  with  the  long  ropes  and  chains  hanging  from  the  apparatus  and 
necessary  to  grip  the  carriage  and  to  unhook  the  hoisting-block. 

A  different  class  of  tramway  is  that  employing  an  elevated  iron  track  in  place  of  a 
suspended  wire  rope,  but  otherwise  worked  in  the  same  way.  There  are  several 
systems  of  this  kind  in  existence,  one  of  the  best  being  Berger's  patent,  illustrated 
in  Figs.  113-116,  Plate  28.  These  tramways  are  especially  adapted  for  heavy 
work  and  a  continuous  delivery  of  some  mining  product.  Berger's  system  con- 
sists of  an  elevated  track  resting  on  wooden  posts  placed  twenty  feet  apart.  A 
number  of  buggies  with  a  single  wheel  are  placed  at  regular  distances  on  this 
track ;  all  of  them  are  connected  to  and  set  in  motion  by  an  endless  wire  rope, 
which  passes  at  each  end  of  the  tramway  around  a  grip-wheel  or  grooved  rubber- 
lined  wheel,  and  is  driven  by  an  engine  (Figs.  115*,  115*}.  The  speed  of  the 
rope  is  about  150  feet  per  minute,  which  makes  it  possible  to  fill  or  empty  the 
buckets  at  the  ends  while  they  pass  around  the  end  curve,  and  without  taking 
them  off.  The  rail  is  4J  inches  high,  having  the  section  of  an  I,  and  is  screwed 
to  a  longitudinal  4x5-inch  timber  (Figs.  llJf,  lift}.  As  a  special  advantage  of 
this  system  it  must  be  remarked  that  it  is  easy  to  go  around  any  curve  by  simply 
placing  a  pair  of  wheels  in  the  angle  as  shown  in  Fig.  116.  The  track  has  been 
omitted  in  this  sketch  to  avoid  the  confusion  of  too  many  lines ;  it  runs  parallel 
'to  and  directly  over  the  rope  suspended  from  the  timbers  (F)t  similarly  as  shown 
in  Fig.  115*  at  the  end  station.  The  pulling-rope  has  a  diameter  of  f -inch,  and 
little  power  is  required  to  move  the  buckets,  as  the  rolling  friction  on  the  smooth 
rail  is  very  small  and  only  the  axle  friction  has  to  be  overcome.  On  steep  incli- 
nations of  course  more  force,  as  well  as  a  larger  rope,  is  necessary.  This  is  also 
the  case  if  the  number  of  buggies  is  increased.  Making  the  pulling-rope  and 
driving  power  large  enough,  there  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  the  quantity  of  material 
which  can  be  transported,  as  the  buckets  may  be  placed  only  ten  feet  apart. 

(6.)     TRAMWAYS    WITH    MOVABLE    ROPES. 

The  first  tramways  of  this  kind  were  constructed  in  this  country  by  John  A. 
Roebling  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  wire  from  one  shore  of  a  river  to  the 
other  in.  making  cables  for  his  suspension  bridges.  He  gave  it  simply  the  name 
"traveling  rope"  or  "working  rope."  It  consisted  of  a  f  to  f-inch  wire  rope, 
stretched  from  shore  to  shore,  and  spliced  endless  after  passing  it  at  each  side 
around  horizontal  wheels.  Motion  was  given  to  the  driving-wheel  by  horse  or 
steam  power.  A  light  wheel  was  securely  fastened  to  this  rope,  carrying  the 
wire  across  the  river  and  returning  empty. 


60 

This  same  principle  has  later  been  applied  for  the  transportation  of  mining 
products  over  mountains,  valleys  or  rivers.  The  rope  for  this  purpose  is  sup- 
ported every  100-150  feet,  and  a  series  of  buckets  are  attached  to  it.  A  number 
of  patents  are  in  existence  for  the  details  of  this  system,  among  which  we  may 
mention  Hodgson's  patent.  His  method  of  attaching  the  bucket  consists  of  a 
/V-shaped  clutch,  which  simply  rests  on  the  rope,  being  held  by  friction  ;  it  easily 
runs  over  the  supporting-rollers.  At  the  end  stations  the  clutch  passes  from  the 
rope  to  a  separate  rail,  for  which  purpose  it  is  provided  with  two  small  wheels, 
so  that  it  can  easily  be  pushed  by  the  men  in  attendance  around  the  curve  to  the 
opposite  side,  where  it  clutches  the  rope  again.  This  passage  of  the  buggies 
around  the  end  rail  is  made  use  of  to  fill  or  empty  them,  according  to  neces- 
sity. As  far  as  we  know,  these  tramways  have  only  been  attempted  in  a  straight 
line,  but  there  is  no  particular  objection  to  using  them  also  in  curves.  At  each 
turning-point,  of  course,  it  is  necessary  to  place  a  wheel  and  rail,  the  same  as  at 
the  end  stations ;  also  a  man  for  pushing  the  buckets  over  the  rail.  An  objection 
to  this  system  lies  in  the  fact  that  at  inclinations  exceeding  25  per  cent,  the 
clutch  commences  to  slip,  especially  near  the  supporting-rollers,  where  occasion- 
ally two  buckets  collide  and  are  thrown  off  the  rope.  For  light  loads  and  in 
localities  where  the  erection  of  many  posts  is  objectionable,  these  tramways  are 
preferable  to  those  with  fixed  rails,  and  do  very  good  service. 


INCLINED  PLANES. 

Several  systems  already  described  in  the  underground  haulage  may  be  termed 
"inclined  planes,"  but  this  name  proper  is  generally  only  given  to  the  large 
overground  planes  of  the  different  coal  railroads,  on  which  whole  trains  are 
alternately  raised  or  lowered.  They  are  nearly  all  constructed  after  the  principle 
of  the  endless  rope  system,  but  they  differ  somewhat  in  details  and  are  especially 
remarkable  for  their  large  dimensions,  so  that  it  will  be  of  interest  to  mention 
some  of  the  principal  ones. 

Fig.  liy*,  Plate  £9,  represents  the  inclined  plane  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and 
Navigation  Co.,  at  Solomon's  Gap,  near  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.  There  are  three 
inclines  above  each  other,  with  a  combined  length  of  14,800  feet,  and  6000  tons 
are  raised  per  day  to  a  height  of  1640  feet,  at  the  price  of  one  cent  per  ton  per 
mile.  The  plane  is  worked  by  an  endless-rope  system,  composed  of  a  2J-inch 
iron  main  rope,  wound  three  times  around  two  drums  of  19-foot  9-inch  diameter, 
and  of  a  1  J-inch  following  or  tail  rope,  passing  around  a  return-wheel  of  12- 
foot  diameter,  which  is  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  plane  on  a  movable  carriage, 
with  a  weight  attached  to  it  to  keep  the  rope  constantly  in  equal  tension.  The 
drums  reverse  alternately  for  raising  the  load,  consisting  of  24  cars,  either  on  one 
track  or  the  other. 

The  driving  engine  is  of  800-horse  power,  and  consists  of  two  vertical  cylin- 
ders of  26-inch  diameter  by  40-inch  stroke,  and  a  gearing  with  a  6-foot  pinion 
and  19-foot  9-inch  spur-wheels. 


61 

Each  train  is  accompanied  by  a  special  car,  called  the  "barney,"  which  is  at- 
tached to  the  lower  end  of  the  train,  pushing  the  cars  up  the  incline,  while  the 
other  barney  descends  empty  on  the  opposite  track.  The  ropes  are  fastened  to 
the  barneys  by  means  of  sleeve  sockets.  In  order  to  save  an  extra  pair  of  rails 
for  the  barney  and  nevertheless  to  allow  the  other  cars  to  pass  it  at  the  bottom 
of  the  incline,  an  ingenious  switch  has  been  contrived  and  placed  at  point 
(J)  (Fig.  117*).  By  means  of  this  switch  the  barney  descends  into  a  pit  from 
track  ( A  A1)  to  track  ( C  C1),  while  the  coal  cars  continue  on  track  (A  A1)  in 
the  same  level  (Fig.  118).  To  effect  this  the  wheels  of  the  barney  are  loose  on 
the  axles  and  movable  on  them,  the  flanges  are  outside,  and  it  can  therefore 
readily  be  understood  that  the  wheels,  when  touching  the  tongue  (M\  are 
pushed  inward  so  as  to  run  first  on  the  rails  (N),  and  afterwards  are  still 
more  pushed  together  by  the  rail  (S)  until  they  run  ultimately  on  the  rails 
{C  C1).  The  first  motion  of  the  wheels  is  limited  by  the  projecting  rail  (P),  and 
the  second  by  a  shoulder  on  the  axle.  Both  rails  (M)  and  (8)  are  movable 
around  pivots,  but  held  in  position  by  springs  pressing  in  the  direction  of  the 
arrows.  On  the  return  trip  the  reverse  takes  place.  When  reaching  points 
{/9  ft1)  the  wheels  are  pressed  apart  by  the  tongues  (R  Rl)  so  as  to  force 
them  to  run  on  track  (B  Bl),  from  where  they  pass  over  on  (N  JV1),  and  by 
means  of  the  rail  (P)  projecting  over  (N  Nl)  are  finally  pushed  on  (A  A1)  again. 
For  a  still  better  understanding  of  Fig.  118  a  few  sections  are  drawn,  showing 
the  position  of  the  rails  and  car  wheels  at  different  points  of  the  switch 

The  plane  has  two  tracks,  on  which  the  full  trains  ascend  alternately,  and  at 
the  top  as  well  as  at  the  bottom  there  are  the  necessary  switches  and  side  tracks 
for  the  arrangement  of  the  train  of  cars  (Fig.  117b). 

Another  famous  series  of  inclined  planes  are  those  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Canal  Co.  between  Carbondale  and  Honesdale.  They  cover  a  distance  of  17 
miles,  there  being  17  inclined  planes,  varying  in  length  from  1000  to  1500  feet, 
and  in  inclination  from  10  to  12  feet  in  one  hundred.  Fig.  119,  Plate  30,  rep- 
resents one  of  these  planes  in  elevation  and  ground  plan.  Some  are  worked 
upon  the  main  and  tail  rope  system,  the  ends  of  the  rope  being  fastened  to  the 
drum  as  in  Fig.  120  ;  others  upon  the  principle  of  the  endless  rope,  the  rope  not 
being  fastened  to  the  drum,  but  only  wound  on  it  with  three  or  four  turns  to  get 
enough  friction  to  prevent  its  slipping;  the  latter  method  is  used  only  for  lower- 
ing empty  cars  to  the  repair  shops.  In  both  cases  the  return-wheel  is  placed 
on  a  carriage  with  a  weight  attached  to  it  to  keep  the  rope  in  constant  tension. 
A  train  attached  to  the  rope  generally  consists  of  5  cars,  each  containing  a  load 
of  5  tons  of  coal.  The  train  is  taken  up  the  plane  with  a  velocity  of  18  to  19 
miles  per  hour.  Each  incline  is  worked  by  an  engine  of  250-horse  power,  of  the 
type  shown  in  Fig.  119  ,  with  two  horizontal  cylinders.  The  heaviest  ropes 
•employed  on  the  ascending  inclines  have  a  diameter  of  1 J  inches,  and  the  smallest 
1  inch.  Each  plane  has  only  a  single  track,  but  there  are  two  separate  series  of 
planes — one  for  the  east-bound  full  trains,  the  other  for  the  west-bound  empty 
trains.  On  all  the  inclines  for  the  ascending  trains,  safety  arrangements  are 
placed  at  certain  distances  to  guard  against  accidents  in  the  case  of  a  rupture  of 


62 

the  rope.  These  planes  were  first  constructed  in  1827,  before  the  introduction 
of  the  locomotive,  and  are  at  the  present  day  still  found  to  be  the  cheapest 
method  of  transporting  coal  between  the  two  points  named. 

There  are  many  other  inclined  planes  of  equally  great  dimensions,  of  which 
we  mention  yet  those  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Co.,  the  inclined  plane  at 
Mahanoy,  Pa.,  and  one  at  the  former  Mine  Hill  and  Schuylkill  Haven  R.  R. 
(now  Philadelphia  and  Beading),  of  which  the  plan  of  the  machinery  is  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  121,  Plate  81. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  interest  we  mention  the  old  Portage  railway  incline 
(Fig.  122  9  Plate  32} ,  which  formerly  served  to  take  canal  boats  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania canal  from  Hollidaysburg,  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Alleghenies,  over  the 
mountains  to  Johnstown,  at  the  western  base.  It  was  originally  built  by  Bert- 
rand,  one  of  Napoleon's  old  generals,  and  was  operated  with  hemp  rope.  In 
1840  it  was  reconstructed  for  the  use  of  wire  rope  by  John  A.  Roebling,  and  was 
for  ten  years  in  operation,  but  since  1850  it  has  been  abandoned. 


I  iM- 


s 


GENERAL  NOTES  ON  THE  QUALITIES  AND  THE  PROPER  USES  OF 

WIRE  ROPES. 


Wire  ropes  are  usually  made  of  6  wire  strands,  laid  around  a  hemp  heart  or 
centre.  A  greater  or  lesser  number  may  be  used,  but  it  is  seldom  done.  For 
special  purposes  a  wire  strand  is  sometimes  substituted  for  the  hemp  centre ;  at 
times,  also,  a  hemp  centre  is  put  in  each  of  the  strands.  Each  wire  strand  is 
composed  of  either  19  or  7  wires;  any  other  number  does  not  make  a  compact 
strand,  and  is  therefore  not  advisable.  Using  either  19  or  7  wires,  and  6  strands 
with  a  hemp  heart,  gives  114  and  42  wires  respectively  for  the  total  number  in 
the  rope;  its  strength  is  therefore  equal  to  the  aggregate  strength  of  the  114  or 
42  wires,  less  10  per  cent.,  which  loss  is  due  to  the  twisting.  The  number  of 
wires  and  the  "  lay "  of  the  rope,  whether  long  or  short,  have  advantages  and 
disadvantages. 

The  opinions  of  mine  superintendents  vary  much  as  to  which  kind  of  rope  is 
best.  Special  conditions  govern  almost  every  case.  In  the  mines  of  the  Monon- 
gahela  region  preference  is  mostly  given  to  steel  ropes,  with  7  wires  to  the  strand, 
and  made  with  moderately  long  lay. 

For  general  rules  regarding  the  different  kinds  of  wire  ropes  it  may  be  said : 

1.  Ropes  with  19  wires  to  the  strand,  being  more  pliable,  are  preferable  in 
vertical  hoisting  and  in  cases  where  the  rope  is  led  around  sharp  curves,  pro- 
vided it  does  not  drag  over  the  ground  and  that  friction  is  avoided  as  much 
as  possible. 

2.  Ropes  with  7  wires  to  the  strand  are  stiffer  and  require  larger  drums  or 
sheaves  than  those  with  19  wires,  but  the  thicker  wire  can  stand  considerable 
wear,  and  these  ropes  are  therefore  preferable  on  straight  or  nearly  straight  roads, 
and  where  the  rope  is  exposed  to  much  abrasion  and  other  injuries. 

3.  Ropes  with  a  long  twist  stretch  little  and  glide  easily  over  rollers;  they 
are  therefore  well  adapted  for  the  tail  rope  system  and  wire  rope  tramway. 

4.  A  short-twisted  rope  is  very  elastic,  and  consequently  stretches  considerably. 
On  account  of  this  property  such  a  rope  is  to  be  recommended  for  all  inclined 
planes,  where  the  rope  is  occasionally  exposed  to  sudden  dangerous  shocks  which 
may  prove  fatal  to  the  less  elastic  long-twisted  rope.     It  is  also  easier  to  make 
a  stronger  and  more  durable  splice  in  a  short-twisted  than  in  a  long-twisted  rope. 
For  the  endless  rope  system,  where  a  good  splice  is  a  necessity  but  where  at  the 
same  time  a  great  stretch  is  inconvenient,  a  medium  twist  is  therefore  preferable. 

63 


64 

5.  In  going  around  curves  it  is  always  better  for  the  wear  of  the  rope  to  lead 
it  over  one  single  sheave,  provided  this  is  made  large  enough,  than  over  a  num- 
ber of  smaller  rollers. 

6.  In  most  cases  a  steel  rope  is  to  be  recommended  in  preference  to  an  iron 
rope.     It  is  cheaper  than  an  iron  rope  of  equal  strength ;  also  much  lighter,  less 
bulky,  more  elastic,  harder,  and  therefore  more  durable.     On  the  other  hand, 
sometimes  its  elasticity  is  inconvenient,  causing  the  rope,  when  wound  on  a  small 
drum,  to  uncoil  and  jump  off  after  the  strain  has  been  released.     Its  hardness, 
though  a  good  quality  for  the  rope,  is  injurious  to  rollers  and  sheaves,  wearing 
them  out  more  rapidly  than  an  iron  rope. 

This  variety  of  qualities  makes  it  possible  to  select  in  any  case  a  wire  rope 
most  suitable  for  the  desired  purpose. 

The  durability  of  a  rope  depends  principally  on  the  diameter  of  the  drum 
or  sheave  around  which  it  is  coiled.  If  an  iron  bar  or  single  wire  is  bent,  certain 
fibres  are  elongated,  others  contracted,  producing  a  tensile  or  compressive  strain 
equal  to  the  force  of  a  direct  pull  or  pressure  which  would  elongate  or  compress 
the  fibres  to  the  same  extent.  The  quantity  of  this  force,  and  hence  the  strain 
per  unit  of  sectional  area,  depends  upon  the  modulus  of  elasticity  of  the  material, 
the  thickness  of  the  wire,  and  the  proportion  of  the  elongation  to  the  original 
length.  The  smaller  the  drum,  the  sharper  is  the  bend  and  the  greater  the 
strain ;  therefore  in  determining  the  size  of  a  drum  or  sheave,  the  consideration 
is  guiding  that  the  strain  produced  by  bending,  combined  with  the  direct  pull  of 
the  working  load,  should  not  exceed  a  certain  maximum.  For  this  maximum 
we  take  the  limit  of  elasticity  of  the  material — the  limit  to  which  it  can  be 
strained  a  great  many  times  without  permanent  injury.  From  the  nature  of  the 
rope  it  follows  that  the  size  of  the  drum  does  not  depend  upon  the  diameter  of 
the  rope,  but  only  upon  the  diameter  of  the  wire  of  which  it  is  made.  It  is  true 
that  in  consequence  of  the  twist  a  certain  friction  exists  between  the  individual 
wires  of  the  rope,  but  it  is  so  small  originally,  and  with  a  free  application  of  oil 
is  still  more  reduced,  that  it  can  safely  be  neglected ;  consequently  the  drums 
need  not  be  larger  than  for  a  single  wire. 

The  following  table  has  been  calculated  under  the  assumption  that  the  work- 
ing load  of  the  rope  is  one-fifth  of  its  ultimate  strength,  and  that  the  modulus 
and  limit  of  elasticity,  both  for  steel  and  iron,  have  an  average  value  based  on 
the  latest  researches. 


65 


<v 

SMALLEST    1HAMETKR    TN    FKKT    OK    DRUM   OR   SHKAYK. 

1 

• 

PH 
'o 

Steel  Ropes. 

Iron  Ropes. 

u 

o> 

1 

19  Wires  to  the 

7  Wires  to  the 

19  Wires  to  the 

7  Wires  to  the 

h^ 

Strand. 

Strand. 

Strand. 

Strand. 

Inches. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

2] 

8.6 



J3.Q 



2 

8.0 



12.0 



If 

7.2 



9.5 



1| 

6.3 



8.6 



II 

5.7 

8.6 

7.8 

13.0 

If 



8.0 

7.6 

12.0 

1] 

5.0 

7.2 

6.7 

10.8 

H 

4.5 

6.3 

6.0 

9.5 

1 

4.0 

5.7 

5.4 

8.6 

8 

3.6 

5.0 

4.6 

7.6 

t 

3.0 

4.5 

4.0 

6.7 

H 



4.0 



6.0 

i 

2.3 

.3.6 

3.4 

5.4 

-A 

1.7 

3.0 

2.6 

4.6 

* 

1.5 

2.6 

2.3 

4.0 

A 







3.4 

I 



2.0 



2.8 

A 



1.7 



2.6 

It  appears  from  this  table  that,  contrary  to  the  ordinary  belief,  iron  ropes 
require  larger  drums  and  sheaves  than  steel  ropes.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact 
that  iron  wire,  having  about  the  same  modulus  of  elasticity,  possesses  only  an 
ultimate  strength  and  a  limit  of  elasticity  of  less  than  one-half  that  of  steel  wire. 
There  are  frequently  practical  reasons  for  choosing,  in  certain  cases,  larger  drums 
than  the  sizes  stated  in  the  table;  for  instance,  to  avoid  the  recoiling  and  jump- 
ing off  of  the  steel  ropes  after  releasing  the  tension. 

Tf  the  working  load  produces  in  the  straight  part  of  the  rope  less  strain  than 
one-fifth  of  its  breaking  strength,  the  drum  diameters  may  be  smaller  without 
injury  to  the  rope,  but  if  the  working  load  is  greater  than  one-fifth  of  the  rope's 
ultimate  strength,  the  drums  must  be  correspondingly  larger  if  the  strain  shall 
not  exceed  the  limit  of  elasticity. 


66 

In  leading  wire  ropes  around  curves  it  is  often  impossible,  for  lack  of  space, 
to  use  a  large  sheave,  and  recourse  must  be  had  to  a  number  of  small  rollers. 
With  this  arrangement  many  mistakes  have  been  made,  in  consequence  of  which 
there  has  been  a  speedy  wearing-out  of  the  rope.  The  success  in  one  case,  the 
failure  in  another,  and  the  varied  opinions  of  practical  men  concerning  the  best 
methods,  are  a  proof  of  this,  and  demonstrate  the  importance  of  the  matter. 
Close  observation  and  the  comparison  of  many  facts  collected  in  the  Monongahela 
coal  regions  seemed  to  indicate  that  similarly  to  the  law  governing  the  diameter 
of  a  single-wire  sheave  there  would  also  be  another  law  determining  the  number 
and  position  of  the  small  rollers,  so  that  no  part  of  the  rope  would  be  strained 
beyond  its  limit  of  elasticity.  Theoretical  investigations  corroborate  this,  and 
show  that  with  the  proper  arrangement  a  rope  can  be  taken  around  a  curve  by 
means  of  small  rollers  with  the  same  safety  as  by  means  of  one  large  sheave. 
This  is  of  great  advantage  in  practice,  but  only  true  when  the  rollers  are  correctly 
arranged.  A  general  rule  cannot  be  given  for  such  an  arrangement  on  account 
of  differing  circumstances.  It  is  necessary  to  investigate  each  case  separately 
and  to  go  through  the  whole  course  of  calculations,  but  the  benefit  derived  from 
it  in  doubling  or  tripling  the  durability  of  a  rope  is  well  worth  the  trouble. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  reach  a  similar  result  by  special  construction  of 
the  supporting-rollers,  of  which  O.  H.  Jadwin's  patent  supporting  arrangement 
is  an  example.  It  consists  of  two  rollers  placed  at  the  ends  of  a  short  beam 
which  is  pivoted  in  the  centre.  While  in  regard  to  the  easier  curvature  of  the 
rope  this  arrangement  only  approaches  the  true  necessity,  it  has  certainly  the 
advantage  of  always  giving  to  the  rope  a  support,  and  preventing  the  vertical 
vibrations.  It  is  also  claimed  for  it  that  a  grip  as  used  in  the  endless  rope 
systems  and  cable  railways  would  slide  easily  over  the  rollers  without  the  neces- 
sity of  lifting  the  rope  above  the  same. 

A  theoretical  investigation  is  of  special  importance  for  suspended  tramway 
ropes.  The  rapid  wearing-out  of  these  ropes  is  in  most  cases  due  to  a  faulty 
construction  of  the  carriage ;  generally  the  wheels  are  either  too  small  or  not 
enough  in  number.  With  the  proper  construction  of  a  carriage,  adapted  to  the 
conditions  of  the  weights,  the  life  of  a  rope  can  be  considerably  prolonged. 


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Book  Slip-50m-12,'64(F772s4)458 


361573 

Hildenbrand,  W. 

The  underground 
haulage  of  coal  by 
wire  ropes. 


TN331 
H64 


PHYSICAL 
SCIENCES 
LIBRARY 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


Hildenbrand,  W. 

The  underground 
haulage  of  coal  by  wire 
ropes. 


